The Mole: Saboteur's Island
by krisetchers
Summary: The Mole: The mystery continues! Ten players aim to complete a series of challenges, winning up to 500,000 coins in this tropical setting. But among them is a betraying secret agent, ruthlessly sabotaging their vacation. Can you uncover who is The Mole?
1. The Jumping Start

**__****To all those reading: Be sure to NOT look at either the reviews or end chapters at any time! Clicking on that number above and reading the reviews will reveal too much! Thanks a million for reading! Feel free to leave a review (=**

* * *

**This story, including this first chapter, contains a major spoiler pertaining to my first season: The Mole: Traitor Aboard. I would highly suggest reading that first. ****However, if you really want to go ahead with the second season below, feel free.**

**Enjoy either way!**

**If you've read Season 1, here comes a whole new adventure full of paradise and deceit! **

**Happy Mole hunting =D  
**

* * *

A recognizable, short figure with a top hat sat at the edge of the shore, looking endlessly at the horizon in front of him. The blue waters gave off an appealing vision to the host.

"A boat is soon to arrive in minutes. On it, our ten players selected from all over the Mushroom Kingdom to compete in our special game. Every one of them has come here to win, to succeed, to triumph over the others. They didn't come to this place to relax in the majestic scene of paradise. They are here, determined to solve the mystery surrounding this rather tropical-like setting. The mystery? To figure out the answer to one simple question."

In the distance, the host spots the motor boat traveling towards him, ripping across the surface of the water violently to its destination.

"Who is the Mole?"

* * *

**The Mole: Saboteur's Island  
**

The boat finally reached the island. As soon as it became stationary, a player stepped out into the open air. Energetically, he stepped onto the sand.

_**PLAYER: Diddy**_

_Surname:_ Kong

_Birthday:_ October 21

_Occupation:_ Competitive Kart Racer

A second person stepped from the boat. She looked around, pleased and happy at the location she had arrived at.

_**PLAYER: Rosalina**_

_Surname:_ Galaxye

_Birthday:_ January 5

_Occupation:_ Flight Attendant

The third person to step down could barely wait to get off the crowded vehicle. She straightened her bow out and stepped down onto the sand.

_**PLAYER: Wendy**_

_Surname:_ Koopa

_Birthday:_ November 7

_Occupation:_ Singer/Dressmaker

The fourth person to get off the boat was smiling from ear to ear, all from excitement. The bright sun had no effect on him.

_**PLAYER: Boo**_

_Surname:_ Vaporse

_Birthday:_ February 20

_Occupation:_ Security Guard

The fifth player stumbled his way off the boat in an inappropriate manner. He got off and looked at the others with a frown.

_**PLAYER: Wario**_

_Surname:_ Garlimo

_Birthday:_ September 29

_Occupation:_ Moneylender/Explorer

The next person happily stepped off, feeling exhilarated and unfamiliar to the setting that she saw.

_**PLAYER: Goombella**_

_Surname: _Frankster

_Birthday: _April 16

_Occupation:_ Archeologist

Another person stepped down carefully, full of life and fully baffled by her tropical surroundings.

_**PLAYER: Luvbi**_

_Surname: _Nimbis

_Birthday: _May 5

_Occupation: _Harpist/Oracle

The next person to get off the ship hopped and landed in a thud on the sand. He looked around and smiled.

_**PLAYER: Yoshi**_

_Surname: _Dino

_Birthday: _April 13

_Occupation: _Fruiterer/Waiter

A ninth person stepped off the boat. He took a deep breath, reminding himself of the wonderful scent of sea water.

_**PLAYER: Bobbery**_

_Surname:_ Keelers

_Birthday:_ August 17

_Occupation:_ Admiral

The last person got off the boat carefully. She looked excited, wondering what would happen next once she was finally off the boat.

_**PLAYER: Vivian  
**_

_Surname:_ Shadens

_Birthday: _October 4

_Occupation:_ Visual Display Artist

_Ten players. One saboteur. But who is it? Who is the Mole?  
_

* * *

On the boat, the players had been separated by compartments and were not let out at all during the 3-hour trip, except for necessary emergencies and needs. Now, they had just seen each other for the first time. The boat left, ripping back to it's starting point as it had done coming here.

"Well, what a location," Diddy said with a grin, looking around at the players.

"Yeah, it actually made that boat ride worth it," said Wario. "Almost."

"No, the boat ride was nothing," Goombella said. "It's just so exhilarating to be here!" All players looked at each other.

"So, nice to meet you all!" said Wendy. "Is this all the players? Or are there still more on the boat?"

"Nope, just ten," Boo confirmed. "At least that's what I think it was."

"I really like this place," Vivian couldn't help saying. The others realized the same: their homes back in the Mushroom Kingdom were nothing compared to the tropical breeze and magnificent setting around them.

"It is...unfamiliar," Luvbi added.

"Not to me," Bobbery spoke out. "Reminds me just of home, and a younger version of myself."

"Were you a sea captain?" Rosalina asked him.

"Sea captain, admiral, same word," Bobbery replied proudly.

"This reminds me of my home too," Yoshi piped up. "But my island had fruits and uncivilized people everywhere."

"Yeah, I'm getting hungry now," Wario realized. "I want food." He looked behind them, at the humongous jungle of flora that made up nearly all of the island. He shrugged.

"But where are we anyway?" Yoshi asked curiously. The other players questioned themselves the same; they were in the middle of an island, with no means of transportation to get off.

"Well, I consider it absurd staying in this position," Luvbi said. "Go off, we must."

"Where to?" Wendy asked her. "I'm staying here until someone tells me where to go." Luvbi rolled her eyes.

"Okay, we're not going to just sit here and do nothing," Diddy spoke up. "Right?"

"We can," said Boo. "I kind of like staying here on this island."

"Yes, but we must be starting something," Rosalina thought. "I think we're doing something important at this very second."

"Oh, by all means, I can built us a boat out of of here," Bobbery joked. The others laughed with him, yet couldn't help but still be bewildered by their situation.

"Wait!" Vivian said suddenly. The others turned to her.

"What is it?" asked Diddy.

"I hear...something," Vivian told them. "Everyone, listen carefully." As soon as everyone turned their attention to the sound around them, they all began to hear a faint beeping sound. Boo turned around.

"Yeah, it's coming from behind me," he told the others. All at once, the ten of them walked towards the noise that was being admitted just a few feet away from them. They were all led to a batch of sand.

"Yep, it's under there," said Boo.

"Ooh, let's dig it up!" said Wendy, turning to Goombella.

"Well, it's not THAT deep that you'll need an archeologist to dig it up," Goombella said with a smile.

"You guys are so slow at this," said Wario, "I can show you how it's done!" He pulled his arm back for a second, then suddenly threw his fist down into the sand, directly above the source of beeping.

"Did you just punch the sand?" Bobbery asked, shaking his head. "Foolishness, I say!"

"Yes, and it worked," Wario said with a grin, sticking his hand further down into the sand. His mouth dropped open when his fingers felt a metal object, buried deep below the surface of the sand. He grabbed on tight to it and pulled his arm out.

"Hehe, I got it!" he said, almost in a boastful manner.

"It's a tape recorder," Wendy noticed. "Play it!" Wario pressed down on the only button visible on the front of the device, as the others listened carefully.

_"Hello, players! This is your host, McHallyboo. The ten of your have been selected to play in a most magnificent game, and a stressful one indeed. You'll need strength, courage, and wisdom, but most of all, intelligence. This game will be lasting just a little bit over a month, but not all of you will make it there. The winner at the end, and only the winner, will be able to win up to a grand total of 500,000 coins."_

"Oh my goodness," Vivian couldn't help saying. The others stared at the tape recorder in incredulity.

_"However, one of you has a free pass to that very final round, because you are the Mole. Your job is to sabotage the efforts of the other nine, but most importantly, deflect suspicion off from yourself. To the other players: Do you know who the Mole is? At the end of this episode, the one who knows the least about the Mole will be leaving us. So, good luck." _The tape shut off.

"A Mole?" Yoshi asked. "Why can't they use the word 'traitor' or 'saboteur'? I always thoughts Moles were those creatures who dug into the ground."

"Using the word 'traitor' would just make the game dull in my opinion," said Rosalina. "Hmm, I would find it amusing if Monty Mole was indeed a player." The other laughed.

"Well, whoever this Mole is, I'll be the first to find him," Diddy said, looking carefully at the others.

"Or her, perhaps" Vivian said.

"Well, I'm not sure about you guys," Boo spoke up, "but I had actually seen the first season of The Mole on television a few months ago. And that Mole was a female."

"Oh, then that just states it," said Bobbery, "The Mole is a male this time!"

"Or could it be a female again?" Rosalina asked. Nobody had an answer.

"Well, the only thing I'm sure of is that one of us here is the Mole," said Wendy. "My strategy: trust nobody!"

"It's near impossible to survive without a trust in possession!" Luvbi stated.

"Well, I think I can," Wendy said back. "I can do everything by myself."

"Try if you must," replied Luvbi. Wendy glared at her.

"Okay, so where's our first mission?" Goombella said, excitedly. Diddy scratched his head.

"What do you think?" he said to her. "The tape had nothing else spoken on it except the basics of this game."

"So is this game like Survivor?" Yoshi asked. "Cause we're on an island." Wario let out a groan.

"I hate Survivor," Wario mumbled. "Hate it, hate it." He kicked at a rock on the sand, which flopped into the hole that the tape recorder was in. The group was in silence.

Suddenly, they all looked up at the sky, hearing an intense noise from above. Into the view came an airplane, roaring straight above them and circling back as it passed the players below. The players were ecstatic, waving their hand in the air and jumping up and down, all in hopes of catching the plane's attention. They did.

"Whoo!" shouted Goombella. "They're here!"

"Over here, over here!" Wendy yelled. As the plane landed on the island, the players stepped back in awe, covering themselves from the immense amount of sand that flew about. The engine of the plane shut off and the players stood still, flabbergasted. Suddenly, a door opened.

"Players," said one of the producers, sticking his head out from inside the plane, "Your first mission begins here. All aboard!" The ten of them made their way over to the plane, unsure and nervous, but over all, excited as they wondered what the rest of the day had in store for them.

But one of them was feeling confident and showed no signs of uncertainty. He or she knew how the game entirely worked, and all its rules. One of the ten players knew exactly what was to come for the rest of the day, as well as what was to come for the next thirty-one days of their adventure.

As the Mole got into the airplane, they couldn't help but smile.

* * *

"This is as bad as the boat!" Wario complained, as the plane door closed. Suddenly, the engine of the plane started, and the plane lifted off from the island. In a few seconds, they were already in the sky.

"Oh, it's rather comfy in here," said Rosalina, looking at the soft cloth that covered the entirety of the floor. But then she frowned.

"Are these..." she started, but then stopped. Everyone else had picked up the objects that were littered across the floor of the plane.

"Oh, darn it!" Wendy said. "Parachutes? No thanks, I'm staying here."

"Ha!," Diddy said, laughing. "I had a gut feeling our first mission would be a big one."

"No biggie," said Goombella with a smile. "I signed up for an adventure."

"Yeah, I did too," said Vivian nervously, stretching out one of the parachutes.

"Hey, look at that," said Boo, taking one of the few seats aboard the miniature plane, "The screen just turned on." All of them looked to the front of the train at the screen, which no longer displayed a blank screen. Instead, live footage of a grinning host was being shown.

"Hello, players!" said McHallyboo in his grandest voice "And welcome to The Mole: Saboteur's Island! I don't have much time to explain all the rules and such, though you should have already gotten them if you had found the tape recorder in the sand, but! Here's your first mission for 20,000 coins: skydive off this plane and meet me at the ground." The players cheered enthusiasticly

"For each player that jumps," McHallyboo added, "1,000 coins will be added to the pot. That gives you a potential 10,000 coins if all of you jumps. The next part of the mission involves a little mental work. For every person that jumps, a number will be added to a combination. So if all players jump, a 10-digit combination will have to be memorized. If just one person decides to jump, the combination will only consist of only 1 digit. So how important is this combination? It's worth half the money in this mission, so good luck with it. Remember, the less people who jump, the easier the combination will be to remember. But, you lose money at the same time."

"Yeah, we're all going to jump anyway," said Goombella. "Right?"

"Count me in!" said Bobbery.

Goombella: _I don't believe at all that Bobbery is the Mole. He's a respectable player here, but if he is, it's a great cover-up._

"So with that, good luck!" finished McHallyboo. "I'll be meeting you all at the bottom. Oh, and I can't wait to see which one of you has enough guts to go first. See you later!" The television flashed off.

"Okay, I'm going first," Vivian decided. "I need to do this."

"Are you sure?" asked Rosalina. Vivian nodded.

"Okay, then I'm going second," Rosalina said.

"I'll go third!" piped up Yoshi, looking at the others. Everyone nodded with agreement.

"Does anyone want to go fourth?" asked Boo. Nobody raised their hand.

"Okay, I'll go fourth."

"And we'll decide from there," Bobbery said suddenly. "In other words, we'll decide who'll jump next after Boo goes."

"Uh, yeah, sounds fair," said Wendy. "So let's start jumping!"

"Err, I want to make sure that this is safe first," said Boo. "You know, I know a lot of people who had died while skydiving." Rosalina shook her head.

"We'll survive," she said. "The altitude isn't that bad. Otherwise, we'd be flying without our seat belts."

"Wait!" said Vivian nervously, "Is this tandem skydiving?"

"Of course it is," said the producer, coming out of the pilot's room with suits for the players to wear. "Put these on. We'll be opening the doors in a second."

* * *

Vivian looked down nervously, fear dreading inside her as she made her way to the edge of the open door. The others yelled out enthusiastically to her over the roaring wind that drowned out their voices. Thousands of feet below, the ocean glimmered invitingly.

"Where am I going to land?" she asked loudly.

"The airport!" the tandem instructer behind her yelled. "Here!" He put an earpiece up to Vivian's ear.

"Greetings, Vivian!" said McHallyboo. "You're the first to jump. The first number is 8."

"Eight?" she asked back.

"Yep! Good luck!" The tandem instructor pulled back the earpiece and gave it to the person behind him and Vivian. As he stepped forward to exit the flying plane, Vivian closed her eyes.

"Okay, here we go!" he said, and they both jumped out of the aircraft. Flying freely through the air, Vivian was able to summon up her courage and open her eyes.

Vivian: _It was the most incredible experience I had ever felt. I was just so happy I decided to face my fears first. Otherwise, I would have never went at all._

The next to go was Rosalina. Her tandum instructor put the ear piece up to her ear.

"Rosalina!" said McHallyboo. "Your number is 6!" With that, they both jumped off the aircraft and into the open sky.

Rosalina: _Thanks goodness for my experience as a flight attendant, otherwise I would have probably fainted._

* * *

Both Rosalina and Vivian landed almost simultaneously, yards away from each other. Dazzled, they looked around at their surroundings; they had landed at the Delfino Airport. After Vivian unhooked herself from her tandem instructor, she walked over to Rosalina and laughed.

"That wasn't too bad," she admitted. "I'm so glad to have gotten over it first." Rosalina nodded and looked around.

"The question is, where are we?" she asked.

"The airport, according to my tandem instructor," Vivian said, unsure. From behind her, a short figure with a renowned, blue top hat came into their view.

"Weeeelcome!" he said out loud. "I'm McHallyboo, host of this game and happy to meet you."

"Why, happy to meet you too!" Rosalina said. McHallyboo only replied back by giving her a microphone.

"What is this?" she asked him.

"It connects all the way up there, of course," he said, pointing to the hovering airplane above. "And poor Yoshi is just about to jump off. Tell him your numbers, quick! Don't forget to remind him to memorize them."

"Mine was eight," Vivian said. Rosalina pressed the button of the microphone and spoke.

"Hello?"

"Hello, it's Yoshi! Who's this?"

"It's Rosalina."

"Oh! Where did you go? Did you land in the water?"

"Yoshi, the numbers you have to memorize are eight and six."

"Eight and six? Got it!" McHallyboo grabbed the microphone back.

"Congrats for jumping!" he told them. "While waiting for the others to arrive, go through those doors. The camera people are waiting to interview you." He pointed to the small house structure in the center of the airport, and the two female players went off.

* * *

"Ready?"

"I am ready!" Yoshi jumped off with his tandem instructor, as the others watched him disappear into the endless blues of the sky. None of them aboard knew what the jump's result would be, laying thousands of feet below.

"Oh, my God, I'm so nervous," squealed Wendy, "And I don't know if I'm going to do this!"

"To be honest, it's much worse than you think it is," Diddy said, looking at her.

"No," said Goombella, rolling her eyes. "We all know you're trying to scare us, and it's not working." Diddy shook his head.

Diddy: _Goombella is an archeologist, and in my own opinion, a great pick for possibly the Mole._

Luvbi: _Diddy trying to make us feel scared? Not acceptable and very odd on game standards._

"Come on, guys!" Diddy pointed out. "Haven't you done scarier things than skydiving?" Luvbi turned to her tandem instructor behind her.

"Is this safe at all?" she asked him.

"For heaven's sake, you can fly!" Boo said to her. "So can I. If we happen to unhook, we'll save ourselves."

"Not possible," Luvbi told him. "The wind speed will hinder my flying." Boo nodded in realization.

"I can't wait to get off this stuffy aircraft!" Wario told the others. "I want to go next."

"If I remembered correctly, it was Boo who was to be skydiving after Yoshi," recalled Bobbery.

"Well, that's wrong," said Wario with a laugh, "Cause I'm going." His tandem instructor walked to the edge with him to Boo's dismay.

* * *

Yoshi: _That was too much fun! I'll probably go sky diving again in my spare time. Well, if I ever have the time or money in the future.  
_

Yoshi landed on the base of the airport and looked around. He thanked his tandem instructor and made his way over to the patiently-waiting host.

"Hi!" Yoshi said, sticking out his hand. "Umm...who are you?"

"The host, McHallyboo!" McHallyboo said. "Welcome! Enjoyed your jump?" Yoshi nodded happily.

"Add the number four to your combination," McHallyboo instructed him. He handed Yoshi the microphone as Yoshi grabbed it curiously.

"Hello?" he spoke.

"Hey-a! Who's this?"

"It's Yoshi! The combination is eight, six, and four, repeat! Eight, six, and four, last one being four, first is eight, middle six. Confirmed!"

"I'm not good at memorizing!"

"Try your best!"

"How?"

"I repeat things in my head to memorize them. What do you do?"

"What? That's won't help!"

"Umm...is this Wario?"

"Never mind! I got it-"

"See you at the bottom!" Before Wario could speak back, Yoshi had already ended their conversation. He smiled triumphantly.

"Go through there," said McHallyboo, pointing through the small building. "Get interviewed while the others arrive." Yoshi nodded, jumping his way to the odd building.

* * *

"Ready, Wario?"

"Let's jump already!" the obese man shouted back, as the two of them jumped out of the plane. Bobbery shook his head as the doors closed.

"The fellow has too much mass," Bobbery said out loud. "It's a wonder they allow him to tandem skydive." Diddy couldn't help but laugh.

"Okay, I'm going next," said Boo, putting on his skydiving goggles, "because I was just supposed to go right now, but Wario took my place instead."

"Yeah, I'm really unsure of this," Wendy said, sitting down on the floor of the plane. "If I don't go, will you guys hate me?"

"Sabotage," Diddy muttered. Wendy shot a look at him.

"It's not sabotage!" she replied, "It's fear! You probably have a worst fear too."

"I do not want to jump either," Luvbi stated.

"What? You too?" Wendy asked in disbelief. "That makes no sense! You can fly!"

"Ridiculous," Boo said. "We can't have two people quit already." He looked at Wendy and Luvbi.

"It's only 2,000 coins," Goombella realized. "I mean, success for the Mole of course, but nothing too big. Right?" The doors of the airplane opened once again, as the roaring wind swarmed around them.

* * *

Back at the ground, Wario had landed at the airport.

Wario: _Falling freely at its best! I should be able to afford my own airplane and do that again. I'm stinking rich._

"So, you were able to skydive?" McHallyboo asked, almost in a surprised voice.

"Why would you ask that?" Wario asked him. McHallyboo shook his head quickly.

"Well," the host continued, "You must now tell Boo the combination, but add the number five to the end of it." He gave Wario the microphone.

"Who is this?"

"Who is this?" Boo asked.

"Okay, listen up. The combination is eight, six...wait, I think it's eight, six, and four. No!" Wario counted his fingers.

"Four, six, and eight?" Boo said, confused. "What do those numbers mean, by the way?"

"The combination, you idiot!" Wario retorted.

"You're the idiot!" Boo shouted back. The other players aboard the plane were amused by Boo's mild argument, one that was taking place right before he was to jump thousands of feet out of a plane.

"You can't even remember a 3-digit combination!" Boo pointed out. Wario snorted, then scratched his head.

"Either eight, six, and four, or, eight, four, and six. Then add a five to the end regardless. Whadd'ya say?"

"The second one sounds better to me. So eight, four, six, and then five?"

"Yep! Bye, dead guy." Wario gave the microphone to McHallyboo, who kept his face ambiguous.

"Over there," said the host, pointing to the small building entrance in where the others were being interviewed. Wario went towards that direction.

* * *

"Here goes nothing!" Boo yelled out, jumping out of the plane door. Five had jumped, and only five remained.

"So, what was the order of jumping now?" Goombella asked.

"I forgot," Diddy said, trying his best to remember. He then looked at Bobbery.

"Or maybe it was because Bobbery decided to cut our list short," Diddy told them. The admiral looked him back.

"Pointing fingers just raises awkwardness," he replied. Wendy looked, wide-eyed as the doors of the plane opened once again.

"Okay, I'm going next!" she shouted. The others were startled by her sudden, high-pitched statement, then laughed.

"Well, good luck to you," said Diddy, grinning. "Happy landings! I hope you'll be fine." Wendy felt a certain reluctance as she made her way to the open door, the wind howling around her. Her tandem instructor gave her the ear piece.

"It's Boo!"

"Hi Boo, oh my God I'm about to jump!"

"It's not that bad to be honest. Combination is Eight, four, six, five, and one."

"I'm soo scared! Encourage me!" Boo thought for a second.

"Er...the chances of dying are as likely as surviving?"

"NO! That did not help! Thanks for nothing, Boo!" Wendy handed the ear piece back to her tandem instructor, who gave it to the tandem instructor behind him.

"Ready?" he asked Wendy.

"No no n no no, YES!" she shrieked. They both jumped.

In an instant, both of them were gone, falling thousands of feet to the tropical paradise below. At that moment, the Mole was content.

* * *

**Whoot! Season 2 of Traitor Aboard returns, and with an all new title! For those who felt as if they had seen that title before, perhaps you have.  
**

**All new missions, players, and of course, a new Mole. But just who is it? Which one of the ten is the actual saboteur? **

**Stay turned for next update!**


	2. Mole in Paradise

_**Episode 1: Part 2**_

Wendy braced herself as she and her tandem instructor floated down onto the airport platform.

Wendy: _It was exhilerating! Just remembering the way I fell freely gives me the shivers. But it was so fun!_

"Well Wendy, congratulations!" McHallyboo said with a wide grin as she went up to him. "You are the sixth person to have made it down here."

"That was so much better than I thought it would be!" she said admittingly.

Goombella was next to jump. She looked in front of her, at the flying scene of blue that seemed to change every second. Her tandem instructor handed her the ear piece.

"Hi Goombella!" shouted Wendy. "Don't be scared!"

"Thanks!"

"The combination is...oh my gosh, I forgot it totally!" Goombella stood still, tense but confused.

"What did she say?" asked Diddy, stepping towards her. Goombella listened closely to hear what else Wendy had to say, but heard nothing else. The signal was disconnected.

"She said that she forgot the number," Goombella replied. The other three looked at her, their faces displaying equal confusion.

"Much convenience," Luvbi said rolling her eyes. "What is there to do now?"

"She didn't forget," Bobbery said in a stern voice. "That combination costs 10,000 coins! She must be mad!"

"Sabotage indeed" Diddy pointed out. Luvbi shook her head.

"What use is there to sabotage in the first mission?" she questioned.

"Name one player here who wouldn't name that as sabotage," Diddy said with a laugh, looking at the others.

"I couldn't care less if this was sabotage or not," Goombella told them. "Now what do we do?" The monitor at the front of the plane switched on, displaying a live video feed of the host below. His wide smile glared at them.

"Good morning players," he said. "Right now, I just got the news that you are all in a state of confusion. Here are your options: You can keep on jumping and add money to the team pot, as well as continue with your combination. Or, you can simply bring the plane down here, losing your chances at jumping and costing the team the potential 4,000 coins, one thousand for each of you who didn't jump. However, if you all decide to forfeit, we will then be looking at the combination spoken by fifth-jumped player, Boo, as your final combination answer. If he's correct, you win 10,000 coins. Make a decision." The screen turned off.

"I say we continue with the combination," said Bobbery, "Objections present?"

"Why continue if we have no idea what the combination is?" Diddy said to them. "I say we stop jumping." Bobbery scoffed.

"That's a 4,000 coin loss," the admiral said.

"Well, I'd rather win 10,000 coins, wouldn't you?" Diddy said back. Bobbery frowned.

"Okay, how do we know if Boo's combination was correct or not?" realized Goombella. "If he's wrong, we have no chance of getting the 10,000 coins anyway. Luvbi, what do you say?" Everyone turned to Luvbi.

"I vote we stop," Luvbi stated, adjusting the necklace around her neck. "On my legal counsel."

"Legal counsels," Bobbery repeated.

"What about that?" Luvbi asked, looking at him. Bobbery ignored her.

"Make that two," said Diddy. Bobbery nodded in agreement.

"Is that a game end?" one of the tandem instructors asked them. Goombella nodded reluctantly.

The tandem instructor behind Goombella reached over and shut the door of the plane, leaving them in a tranquil state of puzzlement. In short time, the plane had already descended thousands of feet to the waiting airport below. All ten players had landed safely.

* * *

"What! You chickens," Wario mocked, learning that the remaining four players had not jumped. All four players aboard the plane had met up with the others, those who had landed themselves minutes before. Their confusing story told, the players only waited as the host and Boo made their way to the others. McHallyboo went up to them and cleared his throat.

"Welcome back, all. Because only six people out of the ten had actually skydived, that gives you 6,000 coins right there into your team pot," the host informed them. The players cheered, half-enthusiastically.

"And now comes the other half," he said, looking at Boo. "Boo, for ten thousand, coins, what was your combination?" All players looked at him, nine of them in hopes of a success. Boo repeated the digits over in his head.

"It's...eight, four...six, five, one," Boo stated. "Final answer."

"Incorrect," McHallyboo confirmed, as the others groaned. Boo shrugged.

"I tried," he told them.

"A wrong combination does not win you guys your other half of this mission," McHallyboo announced to them, "and you have lost 10,000 coins. But failed not! Your team pot now stand at a value of 6,000 coins."

**TEAM POT VALUE**

**_6,000 COINS_  
**

"Yes, what a first mission indeed," McHallyboo said, the sun reflecting against his grinning teeth. The players couldn't have agreed more.

* * *

Rosalina: _I was just one of the first to jump, and it was impossible for me to have messed up my combination. But just falling from that high, it's easy to forget very simple things, especially numbers. I don't blame Wendy at all._

Wendy: _I do not, like, skydiving. Worst first mission ever._

Bobbery: _Speaking of sailing suspicious, Diddy went right ahead with agreeing to sacrifice 10,000 coins. I'm not sure whether it could have been genuine instincts or something other.  
_

Diddy: _Goombella was all hesitant on agreeing on what to do. But if you look on the outer picture, we would have been at a loss either way. She's a heavy suspect of mine.  
_

Wario: _Wendy's fault! Ha!  
_

Goombella: _When everyone's looking at Wendy, everyone's forgetting the real player who cost us 10,000 coins, and that was totally Boo with his wrong combination._

Boo: _Wario told me the wrong combination. If anyone blames me, they're blaming Wario. Nobody thinks he's the Mole behind that chubby disguise. It is actually a good disguise, no doubt._

Vivian: _ I do feel kind of bad for not helping the team more in this mission, but at least I did my part of the mission, no matter how little._

Luvbi: _Wendy completely forgets her combination? That made me clearly suspect her. __Well...thank heavens I didn't have to jump. Money was lost, and money was won. Is it only I who feels indifferent?  
_

Yoshi: _This is just the beginning of our adventure. I guess the Mole will have to embrace him or herself from now on, cause tropical paradise, here we come!  
_

_

* * *

_The game had only started. For the ten of them, it would be a whole new adventure, but on top of that, a whole new setting of mystery and paradise as they traveled to the very center of the island, to where they would be located for the next few days: Delfino Plaza.

"This is Delfino Plaza, the capital of this majestic island," McHallyboo informed them, acting almost as a tour guide to the bewildered players aboard the boat they were on. The players looked in awe.

"I smell a sea," Bobbery said, almost in his own nostalgic trance.

"It's coming closer!" Wario growled in wonder. "It's a huge floating block!"

"Now, we're moving towards it!" Yoshi said. "I think?"

"You guys are too funny," said Goombella, laughing. "This place is wonderful." In the distance, they players could already see a banner set at the edge of the dock they were approaching, reading a welcoming message: **_"Welcome, Mole!"_**

"The Mole," Rosalina said, curiously.

"It's weird how the sign doesn't greet the rest of us," Diddy stated.

"Oh my gosh," said Wendy. "Are we staying here?" She squealed in delight.

"Yeah, this definitely beats Season One," Boo said from the back of the boat. A majority of the players turned to him.

"What exactly...happened in Season 1?" Vivian asked him.

"Like I said, Toadette was the Mole," Boo replied. "Luigi won, surprisingly."

"That's a female, right?" Wario asked. Vivian looked at him.

"Luigi's a male," she told him, amused.

"I'm talking about Toadette!"

"Are you dim?" Luvbi said with disbelief. "Toadette is indeed a female."

"A female Mole, eh?" Diddy said to the others.

"What? What would that mean?" Vivian asked. Diddy nodded and grinned.

"I'm not sure what the producers chose, but---"

"Females make better Moles than you guys!" Wendy blurted, as the others laughed.

"Guys are better!" Wario protested.

"Ya know, this is kind of getting sexist," Boo spoke up. The rest laughed even more as the boat finally reached the awaiting dock. Excitedly, the players stepped off onto the wooden platform, under the banner that was strung above them.

"Cool," said Diddy.

"The banner?" Rosalina said, looking at it. "It's nice."

"Wow, hi!" said Wendy, waving at the camera. "We're on TV!" The camera men had no choice but to record the hopping player.

"I'm just happy we're here," said Diddy walking ahead of the others. "Where do we go?"

"It's lunchtime!" said Yoshi happily.

"No, it's undoubtedly game time," Bobbery told him. "Yoshi, this game is _The Mole_. No time for breaks. No time for leisure. This setting is merely a distraction. We're here to work, to discuss, analyze our---"

"Actually, it is lunch time," said McHallyboo from behind them, tugging onto the wooden dock a large suitcase. "Head right in front of you." The ten of them entered through the set of doors in front of them, into the Durian Cafe.

* * *

Even from inside the restaurant, the players could still feel the aroma of tropical paradise. Durians hung from a netting strung from the ceiling, and in the middle of each table, a durian fruit. The players waited for their food.

"Eww," said Wendy. "I don't even like durian." Luvbi looked up at the three durians hanging directly above their table, not in a part of the netting, but from pieces of string that existed no where else on the restaurant ceiling except for above their heads.

"Didn't Durian..." said Boo, but then stopped suddenly. He simply sat in his chair.

"Where's our food?" Wario asked, looking around for the waiters. "Hey, are we even eating here?"

"You guys are, not me," said McHallyboo. "But don't worry. This restaurant isn't limited to everything durian." A Pianta waiter approached them with a piece of paper.

"A nice morning," he said. "Would anyone care for durian juice?" Only Vivian and Yoshi raised their hands. The waiter wrote their names and left.

"Err, did he just...write my name?" Yoshi asked, unnerved and not bothering to look behind him.

"Hey!" said Wario to the disappearing waiter, "What about our food?"

"I'm not that hungry anyways," Vivian told him. "Are you?"

"I mean, we did all just come from an hour long boat ride," Diddy said. "I guess we all are." McHallyboo opened up the suitcase he had brought with him from the boat and set it upon the table. The players looked in curiosity as McHallyboo pulled out a small black-colored book with the design of a green thumbprint displayed on its front. In its top-right corner, the number **1** was printed.

"Over the next few days you'll be using these," McHallyboo explained, holding the book up for them all to see.

"These are your journals. In these, feel free to write about your experiences and anything else you would think useful to record. Each of them are numbered from 1 to 10, one for each player. So, if you'd like to pass these around." McHallyboo passed the journals to Rosalina, who took one and passed the others down to Luvbi. Luvbi remained hesitant for a second.

"Does the journal number you receive matter" she asked McHallyboo, looking up at the ceiling.

"Go ahead," the host replied. Luvbi grabbed Journal 3 and passed the rest down to the other players, a journal disappearing with each handover. The final two journals ended between Wendy and Goombella.

"Nine or seven?" Wendy asked Goombella.

"Umm, doesn't matter," Goombella said. Wendy gave her Journal 7.

"So, now that you all have your journals," McHallyboo told them, "You can now look inside the durian over there." All players stared at the fruit in the center of the table, baffled.

"This one on the table?" Rosalina asked, looking at it carefully. McHallyboo nodded.

"What does that have to do with this?" Vivian asked him. McHallyboo only made a head motion towards the spiky fruit.

"Why, we open it," said Bobbery. "Simple as that. I knew our game wasn't yet over. Yoshi, may you do the honor?"

"I'd probably eat the whole thing," Yoshi replied. Bobbery turned to Wario.

"What do you want me to do, eat it?" Wario asked, ridiculed.

"You showed your strength at the beach,"

"All right, all right," said the obese adventurer reluctantly. "But I need to go outside for this." Without any wait, he grabbed the durian and exited through the doors of the restaurant. Seconds later, the players heard the sound of a think smash from outside the doors, as if a heavy object had splattered against a wooden dock. Wario came back, a small circular chip in his hand.

"Number 3!" he shouted. The other diners looked at him with confusion as he slowly made his way to the table.

"We're not blind," said Wendy. Wario made a face of ignorance to her.

"Who has Journal 3?" McHallyboo asked. Luvbi looked at her journal.

"Me," she said, holding up her book. Boo looked at her with incredulity.

"How the, how the heck do you know that?" he asked her. "You chose that one out of all of them!"

"She's an oracle," said Bobbery. "She knows all kinds of minor things." Boo just stared. Luvbi turned to Bobbery in surprise.

"That's...that's cheating," Boo stated, shaking his head. McHallyboo took the chip from Wario and wiped it off, then handed it to Luvbi. She took it.

"You'll be choosing the roles of the mission tomorrow," McHallyboo explained, closing his suitcase. "The money will depend on you."

"Tomorrow," Goombella repeated. "That's soon." She then smiled.

"But the sooner the next adventure, the better." The pianta waiter behind them set down a plate of lobster onto their table.

"The adventure is already happening right now," Diddy said out loud, digging first into the lobster. The others ate their first lunch in paradise.

* * *

For the remainder of the day, the players got to roam the capital of their location. Not knowing that this would give them an upper hand in the next mission, the players decided to take this as a time for enjoyment and leisure. Staying as a small group, the players, or rather tourists, traveled and toured the stunning island.

But for some of them, this was the very first opportunity at a coalition.

"Wow, it's...bright," said Boo to the player besides him. Wario turned around and looked at Boo.

"Ha!" Wario scoffed, kicking his foot at the beach water that suddenly rose up to their feet. "You're going to get executed first. Bad luck." Boo rose an eyebrow.

"Thanks," he said nonchalantly, "Mole."

"Mole?!" Wario turned his full attention to Boo, almost in a threatening matter. Boo stayed unalarmed.

"Well, I don't know about you," Boo continue, "But you messing up on that combination just raised a red flag in my head."

"So what?" said Wario. "It's good if others think you're the Mole." Boo nodded, then stopped.

"So you're not the Mole then," Boo said. "I don't think you are. Seeing how ambulatory you are with numbers I can't imagine it being you."

"Yeah, you don't seem witted enough to be the Mole either," Wario admitted. "Say, let's make a truce."

"Oh dear," Boor replied. "Like what Blooper did?"

"Who are you talking about?!" Wario asked, his voice filled with an equal amount of annoyance and curiosity.

"Never mind," said Boo, then grinned. "Coalition or what?" Wario nodded, kicking the sand off from his shoe.

"Meh, why not?" Wario replied, grinning. Seeing the others turning the corner from behind them, the two players split off in different directions on the beach. Luckily for them, it appeared to the others as if they had never talked at all. At least not about a secret alliance.

* * *

**Things are just starting!**

** And in honor of a complete season this time, the players finally get journals of their very own. But just how helpful will they be? And the ability to trust is definitely not the best attribute to have in such a game, hehe.**

**Stay tuned for the next mission! And after that, the appalling first execution and the Mole's first victim.  
**


	3. Sinking Treasure

_**Episode 1: Part 3**_

Night arrived quicker than expected for the players. The players were brought to a small hotel in the center of Delfino Plaza, a small building which seemed as if it could only hold enough room for the ten players, and none for any of the genuine tourists roaming around in the island.

"Why can't we go to Sirena Beach?" Yoshi asked, looking at the brochure. A picture of a serene beach with a grand hotel in the center of it was pictured on the page he was looking at.

"It's only the beginning, Yoshi," said the host, pulling out keys from his pocket. "And unfortunately, we only have five rooms rented for you guys." The players looked at each other, almost uncomfortably.

"Five of us have to sleep outside?" Wendy said, astonished. "No way! I'm going in." She went to grab a key from McHallyboo, who pulled it back.

"Absurd," said Bobbery. "We're sharing a room each. Ten players, of course." McHallyboo nodded.

"Room 101," he said, "Is for Rosalina and Luvbi." Both Rosalina and Luvbi nodded as he gave them their key.

"Room 102," he continued, "Boo and Diddy." Diddy grabbed the keys and looked at Boo, who remained motionless.

"Room, 103," said the host. "Bobbery and Yoshi." He handed the key to Bobbery.

"Room 104," McHallyboo said, looking strangely at the paper, "is Vivian, Wendy and Goombella." The three females gave each other a look of delight.

Goombella: _I did slightly suspect one of the players assigned in my room to be the Mole. I was just anxious on how it would turn out.  
_

"And, err, Wario, you have your own room in Room 105." Wario snorted.

"Well, at least I got elbow room," he muttered. A Pianta in a bellhop uniform opened the door of the hotel to greet them.

"Come in!" he said. "Welcome to your first night in Isle Delfino!" Once inside the hotel, the players travelled to their rooms; their first comfortable compartments since the beginning of the day.

* * *

**Room 101**

"I favor this place a lot," Luvbi told Rosalina, as they unpacked their luggage. All their luggage had been sorted out of their bags and placed into duffel bags, each of them having two things displayed on the front: the thumbprint logo, and their name.

"So how did you know that Journal 3 was the number inside of the durian?" Rosalina asked. "I don't think an oracle with that much knowledge is allowed on this show." Luvbi smiled.

"Did you look above us?" Luvbi asked her. Rosalina shook her head.

"Why would you ask that?" Rosalina asked back.

"Because," said Luvbi, pulling her journal out of her bag, "there were three durians right above us hanging on strings. Three was the singular number."

Rosalina: _The way Luvbi acts and knows things makes me think that perhaps she knows a lot more aspects about this game then she should be knowing. It's both useful, but to me, extremely advantageous.  
_

"It was quite obvious too," Luvbi added.

"That's a strange way to look at a sign," Rosalina commented. "You're like an astrologist. Of course, I can personally relate to such a thing."

"Yes, but not a sign," said Luvbi. "The producers set it up. This game performs like an immense mind puzzle." Rosalina took out a pen.

"I think you told me that you have an occupation besides being an oracle," she asked Luvbi. "What is that?"

* * *

**Room 102**

"I'm a experienced kart racer," Diddy said to Boo, as Boo wrote down the information in his journal.

"Ahh," said Boo, setting his bag down. "I've seen you around."

"Television and magazines?" Diddy asked him. "You don't get much from there about me. Which is good in a game like this." Diddy turned to Boo with a triumphant smile.

"I will right now," Boo said. "Who do you think is the Mole?" Diddy shrugged.

"I would say Goombella on first guesses," Diddy told him. "On second guess, me!"

"Way to give yourself away," Boo said with a grin.

"I didn't say anything." Diddy said, shaking his head. He turned to the first page of his journal.

"So, when's your birthday?" asked Diddy.

"I'm not going to tell you," Boo replied. "I don't have to, and I never will."

"This is a game," Diddy explained to him, "and one of us is the Mole. I already know you're a security guard. Tell me more."

"Nope, it's against my strategy," Boo stated.

Boo: _Diddy wanted info. The only way to work this game out is to not let others know too much about you for the quiz. Of course, if Diddy was the Mole and falsely wanting my useless information, it was a good act._

"The more I know about you, the more I'll tell about me," Diddy said, flipping through the journal to count the number of pages. "It's called free profiling. I don't know anyone who would refuse to take the opportunity. Except for you."

* * *

**Room 103**

"The art of profiling," said Bobbery, "is the extrapolation of information about someone, based on known qualities and clear watching. Something you, Yoshi, must use as an upper hand in this game. Take that advice." Yoshi scratched his head.

Yoshi: _It was weird that Bobbery was helping me. I don't know why he would do that. He's like a grandfather almost...I hope he stays long!_

"But can't you just ask people to tell you about yourselves?" Yoshi asked.

"Nonsense," Bobbery replied. "Nobody would do that."

"That's how you knew Luvbi was an oracle!" Bobbery nodded his head.

"Her choosing of the word 'counsel' while on the plane was the perfect giveaway," the admiral explained. "Let me try you. You love food."

"Yes."

"You work in a place related to food."

"Yup!"

"You're very active."

"Yup indeed!"

"You are a waiter!"

"Yup, yup, yup!"

"You find it hard to sleep at night."

"Err...not really. Why do you say that?"

"You must have a lot of sugar in your blood," Bobbery said. "But at least I was on a roll, no?" Yoshi nodded, impressed.

"I hope you don't mind me asking," said Yoshi, opening his journal to the first page. "But who do you think is the Mole?"

* * *

**Room 104**

"Huh?" said Wendy. "It's only Episode One. I don't know who to suspect. Vivian, who do you think it is?" Goombella turned to her as well.

"I'm...I think it's Boo," Vivian told the other two girls in her room. "He knows a lot too much about Season one. A Mole would want to know a lot about the first season of this game and learn from it."

"You sound really sure," Goombella told her. Vivian shrugged.

"He's my initial choice if I had to choose one," she told them. "What about you?" Goombella set her bag down.

"Did you guys notice that whatever Boo said as the combination determined whether we would win the ten thousand coins or not?" Goombella said. "That was sabotage."

"Okay, I just want to say ONE thing," Wendy said quickly, "and it's that I did not try to sabotage that first mission. I don't want you guys disliking me because of that, because I'm sure I'm not the Mole." Both Goombella and Vivian looked at her, unsure of what their reaction should be to Wendy's statement.

"I believe you," Goombella finally said. "Maybe someone before Boo messed up the combination. Who jumped out of the plane before Boo?"

"Rosalina, Yoshi, and Wario..and me," Vivian remembered, being the first player to jump from the aircraft.

"Out of those three, I don't trust Rosalina for some reason," Goombella said carefully. "She's so mysterious. Nice, but mysterious."

"Something tells me it could be her," Wendy said with consideration. "Same with Wario, because nobody should trust him! How about Yoshi?"

"Possibly," Goombella said. "A hyper Mole." The three of them laughed.

"But the players with me aboard the plane wanted to land, even though the combination was already wrong," Goombella told them. "Do you think one of them could have known that the money was lost already? That did cost 4,000 coins." The other two nodded, contemplating every possible situation of sabotage.

"Or maybe the Mole didn't sabotage yet," Vivian said quietly.

* * *

**Room 105**

Wario was in his own room. To his disfavor, the producers had entered his compartment in hopes of an interview.

_Of course, if Wario was the Mole, then the interview would be completely useless and a complete lie._

**Producer: **Good evening Wario!

**Wario**: Bleh! Good night for me! I'm going to bed.

**Producer:** I know this game is tiring, but after tonight you'll be living in it. How's the game so far?

**Wario**: Besides tiring, it's like a movie. _(scrolls down on remote)_ Say, how much do these movies cost on this television service?

**Producer:** How is it like a movie?

**Wario**: A lot of spy work. And also, this game relates to me!

**Producer:** How so, Wario?

**Wario**: Money! I'm keeping it all when I win.

**Producer:** You are an explorer. Could you relate that to this game, since we'll be exploring and traveling to very diverse locations throughout the course of _The Mole_?

**Wario**: Diverse? We're staying in Isle Delfino for the whole trip! This is wimpy walking compared to the exploring I do on my free time.

**Producer:** What would be your initial strategy for this game?

**Wario**: Trust no one!

**Producers:** _(looks confused)_ Well, uhh...so any idea what tomorrow's mission will be?

**Wario**: These missions are just a distraction. They're blocking me from getting the money! They make them more complex so that you forget all about the prize value in the end. Of course, that's the only thing that'll be on my mind for the entire trip, so I won't forget about that.

**Producer:** A great opinion, Wario. Thank you for your time.

**Wario:** Opinion? That was a fact! Well, good night to all of you camera men. And I'm locking the doors when you leave!

In safe paradise, a number of the players immediately fell asleep. The idea of another mission tomorrow, however, kept a majority of them awake. Including the Mole.

* * *

The players woke up to the sound of the crying seagulls, flying aimlessly from outside their windows. Those who slept through the sound of the noisy birds were awakened by the delicate glare of the sun. If neither of those had waken them up, it was then the buzzing of an alarm clock.

The players met downstairs for their first breakfast. To the delight of the players, especially one of them, a fruit bowl was positioned right in the center of their table.

"My, this freshens my day indeed," Rosalina said, looking at the table before her. She sat down contently.

"That alarm clock woke me up!" Wario complained, sitting down. "I give this hotel a 1-star rating." Luvbi rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, before Yoshi gulps the whole thing down, I'm limiting only five pieces of fruit per player," Diddy said, looking at Yoshi closely. Yoshi looked at him with disappointment.

"Stop limiting the poor fellow," Bobbery said sternly, grabbing a piece of bacon and putting it on his plate. Wendy looked at the plate of bacon in front of her with confusion.

"Where would you-"

"Transported on the plane you guys were riding on for your first mission, " said McHallyboo, swallowing a large piece of grapefruit. The players looked appalled.

"Only kidding, players!" McHallyboo told them. "Apparently you guys think everything in this game is possible. That's not true, which is good for you guys. The bad thing is, it's true for the Mole. He or she is capable of doing, if not everything, almost everything they want." The players looked at each other from their side of the table.

"Oh, did I tell you guys about the mission we're having today?" the host remembered.

"Is it right now?" Boo asked the host, filling his plate up with a plethora of waffles. "I'm eating."

"Well, go on and tell us," Luvbi said to McHallyboo. The host grinned.

"I can't tell you it here," he told them, passing the plate of eclairs around the table, "because then you wouldn't be able to understand the mission, would you? Unless you were as smart as an archeologist." Goombella looked up from her plate and smiled.

"I'm just a player like everyone else is," she said modestly. The players continued with their tranquil eating.

"Are we...going out now?" Vivian asked. "I think we should start our second mission as soon as possible."

"I think we should," agreed the host. He sat back and watched everyone else eat, but this time, the players were rapidly engulfing their breakfast, apprehensive and excited for their next mission.

This only gave more time for their personal belongings to be stolen.

* * *

The players only had to travel to the other side of Delfino Plaza for the location of their second challenge. But strangely after exiting the hotel, McHallyboo brought the players to a still boat located near the dock where the players had arrived at the day before. The banner displaying _"**Welcome, Mole!**_" had fallen on the ground, stepped on and trampled repeatedly.

"Let's take a relaxing boat ride before your next mission," the host told them. The players nodded, confused but agreeingly.

Boo: _Right before we're about to do a mission, McHallyboo tells us that we had to take a boat ride. There was something definitely up._

"We just went on a boat trip yesterday," Boo pointed out. McHallyboo coughed.

"This will only last twenty minutes," the host explained. "You guys just arrived here. Why don't we travel to another location while we're at it?" He pointed to a beach in the distance with a pointy structure.

"Gelato Beach?" said Yoshi, looking at where the host was pointing. "Wow, that's far." McHallyboo looked around, frantically.

"Anyone have a camera?" the host asked.

"Pictures!" Wendy said, suddenly jumping up. "We sooo need pictures! I have a camera!" The players spent the next fifteen minutes taking pictures, much to Wendy's satisfaction.

* * *

After taking pictures and going sightseeing around half of the island for twenty minutes, they finally arrived at the beach; their proper destination for their next mission.

To their left was a tall lighthouse that they had been able to see from their hotel windows, and to their right, unoccupied beach parasols stuck up from the ground. But in front of them, floating stationary in the blue waters of the beach, were twelve floating objects lined horizontally in a row. The entire row of floating duffel bags were a fair fifty feet from the shore of the beach. The players stood still, flabbergasted.

"No way," said Goombella, stepping closer to the water and taking a closer look at the floating objects, "Those are our bags!"

"What! Are you serious?" Wendy said in disbelief. The players were shocked, some of them amused, but some of them feeling more unnerved than anything else as they wondered what would be happening for their second challenge. Their bags floated gently before them.

"Ahh, well, I took most of my things out anyway," Diddy said to the others, staring at the floating containers. Vivian gave out a sigh of relief.

"Me too," she said, "But there are still a lot of things in there I need."

"My clothes are getting soaked!" Wendy exclaimed. "I hate water! Get them out!"

"Welcome to your second mission," McHallyboo announced from behind them. The players turned to him.

**Mission 2: Bag Savers**

"This mission that you will be playing is called Bag Savers. While we were busy taking pictures and touring this capital, our producers had snuck into your rooms, zipped your bags closed, and stolen them." The players laughed nervously.

"They only took whatever was remaining in the bag," he informed them. "I'm aware that all of you had removed your journals from your bags last night, so they are still in the hotel rooms, safe and sound. Your other belongings that were still in your bags, however, are at risk." The players suddenly looked uncomfortable, for a reasonable reason.

"I barely took anything out from that bag," Goombella told McHallyboo.

"As you can see, they're floating in front of us in the ocean," McHallyboo continued. "Each of them is tied to a sandbag below. In approximately forty five minutes, the bags will be absorbed with so much water that it will sink to the ground floor of the ocean. At that point, they will be unreachable, even by diving standards." The players were appalled.

"Ha, I'm getting mine first," Wario said nonchalantly.

"However at this point there's approximately only thirty minutes left of time to retrieve your bags," McHallyboo informed them.

"For heaven's bid, commence with the rules already," Luvbi said impatiently.

"Only three people are allowed to retrieve the bags," McHallyboo explained. "They will be the Swimmers. They'll be tied down by combination locks to those parasols over there,." The players looked to their right at the beach umbrellas sticking out from the sand.

"The only way to free them is to get the combinations for the locks holding them in place. One player will be the Number Messenger. Their job will be to receive the numbers through a walkie-talking and free the swimmers, so that they can start with their bag savings." McHallyboo pointed to Yoshi and Vivian.

"You two were the only ones to order durian juice yesterday at the restaurant," he said to them. "You'll be getting the combination for Parasol Swimmier #1. Travel to the Durian Cafe, the place we had stopped at for lunch yesterday. There, you will be taught how to make durian juice. Once you get a pint full of juice, you will be given the combination." He handed them a walkie-talkie, then looked at Diddy and Wario.

"You two were the first to dig into the lobster at yesterday's lunch," McHallyboo said. "You'll be getting the combination for Parasol Swimmer #2. In order to do so, you must travel to the shore near that lighthouse over there." He pointed to their left.

"In the water, a fisherman had tossed a few lobsters into the beach water for the purposes of this game. Once you find one, you will receive the combination." He turned to Luvbi.

"Luvbi, because you had chosen Journal 3, you will be the Number Messenger. Out of the remaining players, choose three of them to be swimmers." Luvbi nodded and looked at the five unassigned players; Boo, Rosalina, Wendy, Goombella, and Bobbery.

"Bobbery, of course," Luvbi said. "Goombella, and..." She looked at Wendy, who glared back at her.

"Wendy." Luvbi tried her best to hide her smile as Wendy's mouth went wide.

"What do you not understand about me hating water?" Wendy exclaimed. "I don't like this! I'm not being tied up!" McHallyboo cleared his throat.

"Bobbery, Goombella, and Wendy will be the swimmers," repeated McHallyboo. "Is that correct?"

"Confirmed," Luvbi said with a sly smile.

"Ugh, whatever," Wendy said in an exasperated voice. "I'm not going to swim anyways."

"That leaves you two," the host continued, pointing at Boo and Rosalina. "Your combination is at the hotel. The combination will be right outside the door. You might not realize its importance, but it is there. That combination will unlock Parasol Swimmer #3." He handed the third walkie-talkie to Rosalina.

* * *

**Roles for Bag Savers  
**

_Swimmers:_Bobbery, Goombella, and Wendy

_Number Messenger:_ Luvbi

_Durian Combination:_Vivian and Yoshi

_Lobster Combination:_ Diddy and Wario

_Hotel Combination:_ Boo and Rosalina

* * *

"Are all of you clear with your parts?" McHallyboo said to them. All of them nodded, still keeping their eyes on their floating luggage, something that proved precious for all of them. The three swimmers were tied to their umbrellas, their ropes being irremovable due to the combination locks then went through the holes of each umbrella pole.

"A swimmer can only retrieve one bag at a time," McHallyboo said. "Every freed swimmer is worth 5,000 coins. Every luggage bag saved is worth 1,000 coins apiece. One of the bags floating among the others in the ocean contains money. If you retrieve that bag, you will add 5,000 coins to your pot." He looked at the swimmers.

"Every bag you do not save will sink," he warned. "Time starts now!" The three teams of two ran to their designated places. Luvbi held her walkie-talking, alert and worried. The tied swimmers had nothing to do but adjust themselves and hope for the best.

* * *

Diddy and Wario reached their location first. A Pianta fisherman was dumping a crate full of lobsters in the sea.

"Wait, don't!" Diddy shouted. "We need one of those!" They watched as the rest of the lobsters fell into the blue water.

"Too late," Diddy mumbled, hanging his head. "Now we actually have to try and look for them." He stepped his way slowly into the shallow water and began to search, but then stepped back onto the sand.

"If I step on a lobster, that's the end of me," Diddy said, groaning.

"Good luck," the Pianta replied, laughing to himself. Wario faced the fisherman.

"Thanks for being useless!" Wario snarled. The Pianta only laughed.

* * *

Vivian and Yoshi entered the Durian Cafe. The waiter at the bar, who was busy placing a pitcher of liquid into the refrigerator behind him, turned to look at them.

"We're here to make durian juice," Vivian told him. "Can you show us how?"

"Hurry or our bags drown!" Yoshi added. The Pianta looked baffled.

"Are you Yoshi and Vivian?" he asked. The two players nodded.

"Oh, by all means, welcome!" the waiter greeted them, closing the refrigerator behind him. "Use that blender on the table. Here, I'll show you." They followed him to the center table of the restaurant.

* * *

Boo and Rosalina had traveled to the building where they had originally departed from; the Plaza Hotel. The bellhop stood besides the door and looked at them.

"The answer is right outside the door," Rosalina said, remembering McHallyboo's words. Boo looked up at the sign of the hotel name.

"The Plaza Hotel," Boo read. "Maybe the combination is 3, 5, 5." Rosalina looked at him.

"For what?" she asked.

"The combination of course," Boo said, pointing up. "Look at that: three letters, five letters, and five letters. This is right outside the door too. If that's not the combination, I don't know what else is." Rosalina turned on the walkie-talkie.

* * *

Luvbi made her way over to the tied swimmers. Bobbery was too focused looking out at the sea, enjoying the view. Goombella looked up at Luvbi.

"Hey, maybe you can use that knife over there to cut us free!" suggested Goombella, pointing her head at the sharp object in front of her. Luvbi went over to it with confusion.

"Do you think it possible?" Luvbi asked, picking it up. Bobbery turned to look at it.

"It's inferior," he stated. "I'm assuming that since our bags are tied to sandbags underneath the water, we cut the string attached to it in order to bring it ashore." The four of them looked at the row of twelve bags floating in the sea in front of them.

"Well, if you're going to try and cut us free with that small knife," Wendy said with annoyance, "then try it on me first!" Wendy struggled to free her arms, but to no accomplishment. She then began tilting her body to one side in the attempt of pulling the umbrella pole out of the sand. Luvbi laughed.

"Your thinking is opaque," Luvbi commented. "I wouldn't want to to travel to the sea while still tied to an umbrella. You'll be helpless."

"Well, what would YOU do?" Wendy snapped. "You put me here. It's all your fault!" Bobbery kept on staring out at the sea.

"I see twelve bags," he said, furrowing his eyebrows. "But there are only ten players. Take a look." The others took a closer look at the row of duffel bags in front of them. Before anyone else could speculate the meaning of the extra two bags, a voice suddenly came from the walkie talkie.

"Hello?" spoke the player on the other end. "Luvbi?"

"It's Rosalina!" Luvbi said, picking up the phone from the sand and pressing the button to speak into the device. "Rosalina, is that you?"

"Luvbi, we think our combination is three, five, and five."

"Based on what?"

"Just enter it to Wendy's lock," Rosalina said back. "If it's right, we're done." Luvbi went over to the umbrella Wendy was strapped to and grabbed the combination lock, then began to turn the dial according to the numbers that Boo and Rosalina had decided as their answer. After turning it to the three digits, Luvbi pulled down on the lock. It didn't budge.

"Tell them to stop giving me false hope!" Wendy complained.

"That combination was incorrect," Luvbi spoke into the walkie-talkie. "Keep searching for one."

"Okay," replied Rosalina. Luvbi let go of her walkie-talkie button and sighed.

"One bag is full of money," Goombella realized, looking at the floating bags in the ocean. "McHallyboo told us that inside one of the bags, there was 5,000 coins we could bring back. That explains the extra duffel bag." Bobbery looked hard at the last floating bag in the row.

"Then what does the twelfth one have?" As he stared intently at the final bag among their luggage, he noticed it move. But it wasn't due to the diminutive waves that splashed against the shore. Something, or someone, was placed inside it.

* * *

**Mission 2 has started! Tying people up to umbrellas on a beach is not exactly the best aspect of a mission. Nor is threatening important luggage. But will all the bags be salvaged before they sink to the depths? Or will the Mole be merciless?  
**

**And watch for hidden clues! Like last season, there will be 65 million of them (or close to that, haha). Happy clue (and Mole) hunting.  
**


	4. A Watery Guest

**_Episode 1: Part 4_**

_Three teams of two had to complete a certain task in order to obtain a combination, which would then be used to free one of three swimmers tied to parasol poles on the beach. Once freed, a swimmer could then begin salvaging their floating luggage bags. Each saved bag was worth 1,000 coins, each freed swimmer was worth 5,000 coins, and a money-containing bag among the others would add 10,000 coins to the pot if brought back to shore. However, if a sandbag tied below the luggage bags became too filled with water, it would sink to the floor of the ocean, losing the contents within in forever._

"Something's inside that one," Bobbery said, pointing towards the ocean, at the last floating bag in the row. The other three looked at where he was mentioning with equal bafflement on their faces.

"It's probably an illusion," Goombella told him, trying to loosen the rope around her. "The waves are probably ruffling the bags."

Bobbery: _My mind was sure there was some sort of sea animal in that twelfth bag. I was certain the waves weren't making an illusion because I know how waves work._

"Most possibly so," Bobbery agreed, nodding. Luvbi sighed and looked at her walkie-talkie.

"If only there was an existing way to communicate with the others," she complained. "This game would be more simple."

* * *

"Hey monkey, I found one!" Wario bellowed, rising up from the water with a lobster in his right hand. Diddy, a few feet away from him and closer to the shore then his partner was, looked confused.

Wario: _I looked behind me and Diddy was barely in the water at all! Either he was a wimp, or he wanted to make me do all the work. I did think it was a little fishy. No pun intended, haha!  
_

"That was way too easy!" Diddy said, looking at the lobster-infested water in front of him. "There must be something else to this mission...wait, what on earth is that?" As Diddy looked closer, he saw a design, etched in blank ink on the underside of the crustacean. Diddy made his way over to Wario and grabbed the animal.

"Put the poor fellow down," Diddy told him. "We don't need him." Wario frowned pulled it back.

"Huh? We only need one!" Wario argued.

"No, not just one lobster," Diddy pointed out. "That's what you think it means. We have to look for Lobster #1." He flipped Wario's hand over, exposing the number on the bottom of the sea animal: **16**.

"Now do you get it?" Diddy asked him. "The first lobster we have to find is a one lobster."

"Oh, you are kidding me," Wario groaned. "And where do we get the combination anyway?" They both turned around to look at the laughing fisherman, who was in the same position as when they had started their search.

"I think that guy will," Diddy said, amused. "That's after we find the right lobster though."

"Ya think?" Wario said sarcastically. He groaned again and looked at the three tied swimmers in the distance, still helpless. They were located on the same beach as them.

"Come on!" Diddy called him, stepping deeper into the ocean. "We're running out of time." Wario turned around and gave the fisherman behind them an angry stare. The Pianta only laughed.

* * *

"And that is how you make durian juice," the waiter concluded, shutting off the blender full of yellow extract. Vivian looked in disgust.

"I can't believe I ordered that yesterday," she said, shuddering. "But why does this juice right now look so...eww?"

"Oh, you know," the waiter told them, "We have add the crème, the condensed milk, the alcohol. But all you two have to do though is make a pint of this raw durian juice and you're done!"

"So we crush the durian with this vice," Yoshi said, repeating the waiter's words and looking over their objects, "Take the stuff from inside, cut it into small pieces, then put them in the blender and blend it with the ice cubes?" The waiter nodded.

"Okay!" Yoshi said excitedly. "Let's start!" The waiter removed the blender container and went to rinse it out. He then came back with it, along with a pint-sized mug.

"Fill this, and then bring this cup back to the kitchen without dropping any," the waiter explained. "There's a green-striped container in the back which is connected to the metal lid of a box. If enough juice fills the container, the box with your combination will open. Any juice that goes elsewhere besides the green-striped container is wasted." With that, he turned and went back into the kitchen. Vivian nodded her head.

"Well, our bags are going to sink if we don't hurry up," Vivian told Yoshi. "Let's do this fast." Yoshi nodded happily and grabbed the first durian, inserting it into the vice. He pressed the button, as the both of them watched the acquired fruit slowly get crushed to a grimy pulp.

* * *

"Ten minutes in!" shouted McHallyboo from behind Luvbi. The host, unlike the players, was relaxing and out of fear. He was also standing a fair distance from the main center of the game.

"Oh, players," he added. "The first bag will sink in approximately five minutes." Bobbery, Goombella, and Wendy looked at each other, unnerved.

"Whose will it be?" Goombella asked aloud.

"Hard to tell," Bobbery said, peering into the distance, "but the fourth bag looks lower than ever."

* * *

Boo and Rosalina entered the hotel, in the attempt to find their hidden combination. Having already given one wrong answer, the two of them struggled to decipher what McHallyboo meant by the phrase, _"...right outside the door_._"_

"Oh dear," Rosalina said, fear dreading inside her, "The bags must already be sinking." Boo turned to the empy front desk and went over to it. He peered over the counter and looked at the various papers scattered among the desktop.

"Don't look at that!" Rosalina said.

"This whole thing is a game," Boo told her, unwilling to turn away from the papers. "Maybe the identity of the Mole is here." Rosalina looked at him quizzically.

"Perhaps," she said, "but I think I would be more worried about our luggage right now than the identity of the Mole. Wouldn't you?"

"What?" Boo said with disbelief. "Are you kidding me? This is all one mission. My goal is to find the Mole." He reached down to lift the first page on top of the paper pile, reading each one briefly and watching out for any key words. Rosalina shook her head and watched him.

"I saw you talking to Wario," she decided to tell him. Boo paused for a second, then continued with his paper shuffling.

"So?" he said back.

Boo: _Rosalina is extremely nosy. She's trying to get everything out of me in this game, and probably knows about my coalition Wario...well, as long as she doesn't use that to her advantage, I'll be cool with that. Or maybe she thought we were just talking. Who knows?_

"I just thought I should let you know," she told him. "After all, you are the so-called expert on this game."

"Wow, I can't believe none of you guys had watched Season One," Boo said truthfully. He picked a piece of paper and looked at it: _Mission__ 1 Combination: 8645124096._

_"_Huh, as if we could remember that before jumping out of a plane," Boo said with a laugh. Rosalina peered over the desk and looked at the hotel papers along with Boo.

"Did you find anything?" Rosalina asked him. "Production notes? Mole identities?"

"Nope," said Boo, still flipping through the papers. "Just info about our rooms. I actually think the producers are smarter than we think they are."

"I guess they are," Rosalina agreed. She smiled and yawned.

"Well, might as well return to our rooms and look from there. We probably passed the combination somewhere on our way out." She paused for a moment, then faced her partner.

"Our room numbers," she said with realization. "Right outside the door." Boo suddenly stopped his illegal paper searching and grinned.

* * *

"Almost done!" Yoshi announced, scooping the remaining durian flesh into the blender. The fruit had already piled up so high in the container that he had to crush some of the durian down as he placed the lid on it.

"My hands," Vivian said with repulsion, wiping them on a towel. Yoshi simply licked his hands, much to her horror.

"Think this is enough?" asked Vivian, looking at the yellow goo within the glass.

"Let me check," said Yoshi thoughtfully, stepping around the table and examining it at all angles. Vivian turned around and looked towards the open door of the restaurant, wondering about the live status of their bags.

"They're depending on us," Vivian said quietly, almost to herself. She then turned to the bar counter, looking strangely at the refrigerator that the waiter had been handling with when they first entered through the door. She took a step towards it.

"No!" Yoshi gasped, taking the lid of the beaker. Vivian ran back to the table, alarmed.

"What's wrong?" she asked with a concerned voice.

"The color," Yoshi said, "tells that it's rotten." Vivian eyes widened, repulsed.

"No wonder it smells horrible," Vivian said with disgust.

"Nah, durian is actually supposed to smell like that," Yoshi informed her. He sniffed the juice again.

"But at least we don't have to drink it!" he added optimistically.

"Well, that's good," Vivian said with relief. "Let's blend it now."

"I don't think we have enough yet---"

"We don't have time," Vivian told him. "With all the ice cubes inside there, I'm sure it'll reach a liter." Yoshi nodded and pressed down on the red button, as they both watched the fruit pieces blend in a strong whir.

* * *

"Lobster one!" Wario said, nearly gasping for air as he trudged his way through the water to the shore. Diddy turned to him from near the shore and saw the single number that existed under the tail of the sea animal: **1.**

"Wow, good job!" Diddy said in surprise, waiting for Wario to make his way to him. The muscled plumber held the lobster in such a way that it was unable to use its pinchers. Diddy smiled in sympathy.

"I win!" Wario said victoriously.

"I would suggest loosening the grip on the lobster a bit," Diddy laughed, "before you kill it." Wario did so and slowly brought his lobster to the fisherman. The fisher man grabbed the animal from Wario's hand and looked at the number displayed on its bottom.

"Very good job!" the pianta said to Diddy and Wario.

"Aha, we beat the others!" Wario said boastfully.

"Now the next number is 16." Wario's mouth dropped open.

"Another one?!" he yelled with disbelief.

"We just had number sixteen!" Diddy recalled. "Where did youput it?" Wario looked at his partner with irritation.

"Hey, it was you!" he realized, pointing at him. "You told me to drop it!" Diddy faced him.

"Wario, it's equality my fault as it is yours," Diddy pointed out. "And how should I have known that we would need Lobster 16 for the future? This game isn't that easy!" Wario shrugged, defeated.

"So let's keep on looking for lobsters, shall we?" Wario mumbled to himself and trudged back into the water, as Diddy turned to the crate besides the Pianta. The fisherman made a nod towards the crate, almost as if referring to something crucial inside of the wooden case. Diddy couldn't help but follow the strange Pianta's hint and walk up to the crate, the crate in where all the lobsters had initially begun in.

"Wario, I found something!" Diddy shouted out, peering into the inside of the wooden container. It was a net.

* * *

"My room number is 101," Rosalina told her partner, walking over to the other side of the hotel hallway. Boo looked up at his own door number.

"102," he read. "These numbers are right in front of our doors, just like McHallyboo had hinted." He looked over at the other door numbers, then at his own, trying to figure out any meaning between the five door numbers.

"It's probably just our rooms," Boo decided.

"So is that the combination?" Rosalina asked. "Ten, eleven, and two?"

"It has to be," Boo told her, taking the walkie-talkie from Rosalina and speaking into it. He looked the device over and spoke Luvbi's name into the speaker.

"Luvbi," Boo called into the device. Nobody replied, much to Boo's confusion.

"Luvbi?" Boo repeated, then looked over the phone. Rosalina pointed to the red button.

"You have to press down on that in order for them to hear you," she explained. Boo held down on the button and spoke into the walkie-talkie once again.

Rosalina:_ Especially since I had just used it before, Boo shouldn't have stumbled at all with talking into the walkie-talkie, wasting time. That was sort of suspicious._

"Hey Luvbi, are you there? We have the combination---"

"The luggage is sinking!" a voice from the other end called out. Boo's face froze with alarm and faced at Rosalina.

"Hurry, tell the combination!" Rosalina said to him.

"Luvbi, Wendy's combination is ten, eleven, and two!" Boo shouted, trying to catch Luvbi's attention through the walkie-talkie. He paused, hearing no reply from the other end.

"Are you even there?" Boo added.

"By all means, someone is speaking on that walkie-talkie!" Bobbery's voice called out from the other side. They both heard the sound of the walkie-talkie being picked up from the sandy floor as Luvbi grabbed it from the ground.

"Who is it?" Luvbi asked.

* * *

"The combination for Wendy's lock is ten, eleven, and two!"

Luvbi hurried over to Wendy's lock for the second time, repeating the digits in her head as she turned the combination lock dial. The three tied swimmers watched helplessly as one of the bags slowly began to sink under the surface of the ocean, disappearing from their sight. A luggage was gone.

"Oh my gosh," Wendy squealed with terror. "If that was my bag, I will be so mad!" Bobbery furrowed his eyebrows.

"The first bag we have to get is the moving one," he decided. Goombella shook her head.

"No, we need to save our belongings before anything," Goombella told him.

"A gone bag is the least of my concerns in this game," Bobbery replied.

"Your bag isn't the only one at danger," Goombella reminded him. "The others players' bags too." Luvbi pulled down on the lock of Wendy's ropes, only to find that it didn't budge. Wendy groaned.

"Wrong again?" the spoiled Koopa child whined. "Our bags are dying! Hurry!"

"Hush," Luvbi said with annoyance, speaking back into the walkie-talkie. "Boo, that was wrong. Any other guesses?"

"Try ten, twenty-one, one." Luvbi turned the lock dial according to Boo's numbers and pulled down for a third time. But unlike the previous times, the lock pulled down fully, releasing the rope bind round Wendy as the free swimmer jumped up with delight.

"Oh my gosh, thank you!" she said, doing a short victory dance to celebrate her freedom.

"If I had to be tied for one more extra second I think I might have exploded! Gosh, those ropes are strong! I don't like ropes! Well, at least Boo and Rosalina were helpful, right? They're so good at math, even better than me! Now what?"

"Swim!" the other three said in unison. Wendy's face suddenly dropped.

"Oh, all right!" she replied reluctantly. "But I'm getting my bag and that's it! Humph!" She turned around and carefully stepped into the water. Luvbi shook her head and sighed.

"I do hope she salvages more than one thousand coins," Luvbi said.

"I'll make her do more," Bobbery said reassuringly. "Now all we need are the combinations to our locks." Bobbery and Goombella watched Wendy doggy-paddle to their bags.

* * *

"I see juice!" Yoshi called out, stopping the blender. He lifted the cover and took a sniff.

"Needs cream," he said, shrugging. "But anyways, good!" Vivian grabbed the blender container and took it off the stand. In doing so though, the momentum of the thick liquid caused a portion of the liquid to spill out, splattering onto the table below. Vivian shrieked and put the container down.

"Oh no!" she said, covering her mouth. "Can we put it back in?" Yoshi looked around for a napkin, panicked, but then stopped.

"Any juice that goes elsewhere besides the green-striped container is wasted," he repeated, remembering the waiter's words. He looked at the splattered durian juice on the table.

"Yikes," he said, frowning. Vivian looked sorry.

"But I did put a lot in there," Yoshi said, smiling. "Quick, let's move this to the kitchen! But carefully." Both Yoshi and Vivian grabbed the pitcher with two hands each and made their way to the back room of the cafe, to where the waiter had left through.

Immediately to their left after entering the kitchen, the two of them spotted a sink. Next to it on the counter was a green-striped pitcher, which appeared to be strapped down onto a metal plate. Besides the container was a metal box, which Yoshi desperately began trying to open.

"No, we have to fill this with a liter," Vivian said, pointing to the green-striped container. She slowly lifted up the beaker of durian juice and carefully poured its contents into the strapped container, as the metal plate it was situated on began to sink into the table. On the final pour that finished the remainder of their durian juice, a clicking sound was heard. as the lock on the metal box became disabled. Yoshi lifted the cover of the box and looked inside.

"Here, here!" he said excitedly, looking at the piece of paper that was locked within it. "Seven, nineteen, and two!" Vivian ran back to their table to speak into the walkie-talkie.

"Hello?" she spoke, pressing down on the red button.

"It's one, sixteen, and twenty-four!" called a gruff voice from the other side. Vivian paused for a second.

"Hello?" she said again. "I thought this was Luvbi."

"Wario, I used your combination. Goombella is free!"

* * *

The two lobster-hunters dropped both sides of their net into the water, freeing all the examined lobster back into the ocean. Wario let out a yell of success and sat on the shore. Diddy looked over to the other side of the beach, where the main game was taking place. Looking closely at the ocean in the distance, he saw that instead of the existence of twelve floating bags waiting to be salvaged, only eleven remained.

"Oh snap," Diddy said out loud. "I hope that wasn't mine."

"Or mine!" Wario called out. "Say, why don't we go to them now since we're both done with our job?" Diddy nodded with agreement, as the two of them traveled to the center of the beach at different paces. As Wario trudged behind, Diddy reached the swimmers first.

"Greetings, Diddy," McHallyboo called out. Goombella was preparing to get into the water.

"I hope you guys don't think I'm greedy or anything," she said guiltily, "but I'm saving my bag first."

"I would do the same!" Diddy said with a laugh. "So ahead Goombella." They all noticed Wendy in the distance, attempting to untie her bag unsuccessfully.

"I knew it," Luvbi said. "Her intelligence failed to bring along the knife."

"Luvbi, wasn't someone else talking on the other end besides Wario?" Goombella asked her, grabbing the sharp object from the sand. Luvbi's eyes widened in realization as she went back to pick up her walkie-talkie.

"Hello?" she spoke.

"Seven, nineteen, two!" the voice of Yoshi called out from the other end. Luvbi immediately went over to Bobbery's combination lock, as Goombella paused and turned around. Spinning the dials to the corresponding numbers, the lock was pulled down, releasing the ropes of the strongest swimmer. The third and final swimmer was now freed.

"All swimmers freed!" Luvbi spoke into the walkie-talkie. Bobbery immediately darted off to the ocean, passing a startled Goombella.

"Which bag are you going for first?" Goombella called out, chasing after him into the water.

"The twelfth one, of course!" Bobbery called back. Goombella hurried further into the water, with the bag-saving tool clutched in her mouth as she made her way to the sinking bags. At that moment, Boo and Rosalina had arrived at the beach, panting yet concerned for the success of the swimmers.

"Where's Wario?" Boo asked Diddy, raising his eyebrow. The monkey pointed his thumb at behind him, at the obese man who was slowly making his way to where they were. Rosalina looked out to the ocean at the three swimmers. Both Bobbery and Goombella had already reached the row of bags.

"I'm assuming that they were just freed," Rosalina speculated. "There aren't any bags here on this shore yet."

"Well, god sped with you guys, you were slow," Luvbi pointed out. Rosalina shook her head with dissent.

"Yeah, if our combination wasn't so darn hidden," Boo stated, "then maybe we would have been here faster. We never have any idea what we're looking for. This isn't easy stuff. This game is hard." The others repeated Boo's last sentence over in their ahead, realizing its definite level of truth.

* * *

"Help, my bag!" Wendy shrieked in a half-sputter, grabbing onto her bag as if it were a life buoy.

"That's not a kisby ring!" Bobbery told her, swimming his way over to her. With the knife in his hand, Bobbery felt the rope under Wendy's bag and cut it loose from the sandbag below. The sandbag sunk to the ocean floor.

"Bring this back!" he told her. Wendy nodded, and using her bag like a bogey board, she proceeded to make her way back to shore. Goombella was frantically swimming down the row of bags, looking for the one with her name displayed on it.

"Where's my bag?" she shouted. "I looked at all of them! The only thing possible is if it..." She suddenly stopped in realization.

"Will you then help me with cutting this one free?" Bobbery suggested, pointing at the last bag in the row. Goombella had no choice but to do so, as the two of them swam over to the final bag of the row. Goombella grabbed it, only to pull back when she felt a creature within the duffel bag move.

"Oh my gosh, it's alive," Goombella said in a shocked voice. Bobbery went to cut the rope underneath it, only to realize that the bag wasn't tied to a sandbag at all, but floating freely.

"I bring this one, you bring another!" he ordered. Goombella turned around to see one of the bags, sinking beneath the surface. She gasped and made her way over to it with the knife, as Bobbery began to swim towards the shore, the peculiar bag in his possession.

* * *

"Wendy!" Rosalina cried, as the unfit swimmer literally washed back onto the shore. Wendy stood up, unharmed, and held up her soaked bag.

"Yay!" she squealed, tired and exhilarated at the same time. "I saved my bag! I saved it!" Bobbery reached the shore as soon as Wendy had, the unidentified bag clutched in his possession. He let it go in front of Diddy as if fell to the sand, and at the same time, the thing inside it moved. Diddy jumped with surprise into Wario.

"Hey, get off me!" Wario said in a disgruntled voice, pushing Diddy towards the moving bag. Diddy looked at it, almost terrified.

"Holy banana, is that bag alive?" Diddy asked, startled. Bobbery went to unzip it with determination, as the rest of the present players looked down at the mysterious bag with puzzlement, none of them having the slightest or rational idea of what lay inside. As the object moved once more, a muffled voice was heard from under the thick fabric. Bobbery grabbed the zipper and pulled it down, exposing the creature to the tropical air. Every player at that moment stepped back, mystified, astounded, and bewildered.

"About time!" sputtered a helpless veteran, getting up and pulling himself out of the bag. He rubbed his eyes and looked at the stunned players around him.

"What! You were in that bag that whole time?!" Wendy asked, astonished.

"That wasn't the first time I was stuffed into a bag in an uncomfortable position," the squid told her.

"Blooper," Boo said out loud. They players turned to Boo, then back at the irritated guest. Blooper turned around in realization, reaching back into the bag he had just exited from and grabbing his now-soaked hat. He put it over his head just as Yoshi and Vivian arrived at the beach.

"Who...are you?!" Yoshi asked in a startled tone, pointing at Blooper.

"I'm here to help you guys," he said. He looked at each player carefully, all of them still bewildered. Then his eyes locked onto Luvbi.

"Hey, you," Blooper said, pointing his tentacle at Luvbi. "I need to talk to you." Baffled, Luvbi followed Blooper, as the two of them walked over to the other side of the beach, back towards the direction where Diddy and Wario had been doing their lobster fishing. All players simply watched as Blooper and Luvbi walked a considerable distance away from them, and after they had done so, began to converse nonchalently.

"Wait, who was he and where did he come from?" Vivian asked, completely dumbfounded.

"Blooper Inke," Boo told them. "He was last season's runner-up. The Mole got him at the last second." Goombella had reached the shore, panting heavily with two bags in her possession.

"By golly, I completely forgot," Bobbery said, realizing that Blooper had just wasted a portion of their valuable time. He darted towards the water immediately as Rosalina ran to help Goombella.

"Wait," Rosalina noticed, looking at the two bags, "McHallyboo only said to bring one at a time."

"He did?" Goombella said, catching her breath. She shrugged.

"I'd rather save our bags than anything," Goombella told her.

"Whose bags did you save?" asked an eager Yoshi. The others turned to look at the two bags Goombella had brought to shore with her: Vivian's and Bobbery's. Everyone else but Vivian and Wario held in their disappointed feelings.

"You should have gotten my bag!" Wario complained, looking at Goombella heatedly. Goombella rolled her eyes as she turned around to retrieve the rest of the luggage.

"Ahh, oh well," said Boo, then hopefully he told the others, "The bags are still floating though." The players nodded, then continued to anxiously watch the growing success of Bobbery and Goombella.

"Wait, you're a swimmer," Yoshi noticed, looking at Wendy. Wendy turned her head, unconcerned.

"I had trouble getting my own bag," she told him and the others, "And now that I'm safe, I have no intention of drowning myself again."

"Wow, that's cold," Diddy couldn't help saying to her. "Our bags are sinking, and you just give up. Way for a good start." Wendy turned to him fiercely.

"Why don't you talk to the girl who put me in this place?" she said irately, pointing her head at Luvbi. She and Blooper were located a distance away from the others, conversing about something that the players knew was related to the mission they were presently playing.

"Maybe Bobbery shouldn't have gotten that bag," Rosalina said regretfully. The others couldn't help but think the same.

* * *

"It's a special offer," Blooper told Luvbi, twisting the water out of his cap intensely. Luvbi turned around to make that the players were out of earshot of their talking.

"Why did you decide me?" Luvbi asked him.

"They showed me a photograph of you and put me into one of the duffel bags," Blooper recalled, "then told me to offer the person in that picture an exemption." Luvbi's eyes widened.

"That is, if you accept to do what's required," he told her. "You, as the number receiver and the person who picked Journal #3, can receive an exemption and move on to the next round of this game. However, it'll come at the price of 1,000 coins." Luvbi hesitated, then looked at Blooper.

"Does an exemption secure me a spot for Episode two?" Luvbi asked. Blooper nodded with confirmation. Luvbi looked behind her at the players, then back at Blooper.

"Then I'll accept it of course," Luvbi decided. "One thousand coins is as much as a bag not salvaged. It'll be noneffective to the pot."

"Exactly," said Blooper, pulling a pocket knife from out of his hat. Luvbi backed a step away from him.

"All you have to do is cut a hole into one of the remaining sandbags ," Blooper instructed her. "That would cause it to immediately fill with water." Luvbi looked at the knife, her face becoming as indecisive as ever.

"What are you going to do?" Blooper asked, in a voice that represented the same exact tone of McHallyboo's during a certain moment in his previous adventure. It was when the host was offering Blooper the game's most valuable, treasured object in the final mission of his game: the Mole's dossier.

* * *

**Temptation ruins everything, hehe.**

**This is the chapter before the first execution! So what I would ask is to list your top three Mole suspects so far, before the first victim is announced.  
**

** Who do you think the Mole can be? Does anyone stand out to you as fishy? Which of the players could possibly be the saboteur? Oh, and before every execution, there'll be a given clue to help you know more about who the Mole is. Call these _Final Destination_ clues=**

**MP1BULB**

**Who will be leaving? The first episode comes to an end, next!  
**


	5. The First Disappearance

***spits out water* Oh shnikes, it's been THAT long?**

**Sorry folks, I've been really busy lately, and I hope you can understand. Perhaps it'll be easier if you alert to this story, sorry! But I'll never forget about this story, and I'll try to start updating more frequently if I can (or at least non once every two months o.0) Hehehe. **

**The first episode finally comes to its end. Enjoy!**

* * *

**Episode 1 (Final Part)**

"Err, why is Luvbi going into the water?" Yoshi asked out loud, scratching his head. The players turned to Luvbi and Blooper and noticed that their conversation had already ended. Luvbi held a sharp object in her hand, walking towards the water with determination.

"Well, she's officially a swimmer!" Diddy declared, then turning to Wendy added, "and also a replacement." Wendy shot back an angry glare.

"Yeah, more money!" Wario growled excitedly, seeing Bobbery reach the shore with two bags in his possession. One of them had Wario's name printed on it, and the other had a money symbol.

"You picked the money instead of one of our bags?" Diddy said to him with disbelief. "My bag is still there!"

"Frankly, I couldn't give a single soul for our bags," Bobbery replied, looking at the six bags brought to shore. " Why, I'll even bring mine back last to prove I mean it." He then spotted his name printed across one of the duffel bags, brought to shore by Goombella.

"Oh, thank Goombella," he said with relief, heading back to the ocean. Diddy groaned.

"If my bag sinks, I'm going to be fuming!" Diddy told the others, pacing around the terrain of the sand. "My bag is going to sink, and it's all your darn fault-"

"Our fault?" Vivian spoke up. "It's nobody's fault. You can't even blame Bobbery or Goombella if it ends up sinking to the bottom of the ocean."

"It's kind of odd how you're all relaxed with your bag is at stake," Diddy replied.

"My bag is actually right here," Vivian told him, pointing at it fortunately. Wendy had opened up her own bag and was going through her belongings, folding each article of clothing within it delicately and placing it back inside. Boo turned to the ocean, apprehensive as Goombella came back with two more bags in her possession: Luvbi and Rosalina's.

"What don't you understand about bring one bag back at a time?" Boo told her, shaking his head. "We have to listen to the rules of the mission."

"Oh, I'm so glad," Rosalina said thankfully, grabbing her bag and immediately opening it to see if her belongings were damaged. Her clothes were soaked, much to her dismay.

"Well, it won a thousand coins," Rosalina said in an optimistic manner.

"Technically it's worth nothing," Boo informed her, then pointed at Luvbi's bag. "Her bag is worth a thousand coins." Rosalina looked puzzled.

"These swimmers are only allowed to bring one bag at a time," Boo continued. "We're being penalized every time they bring back two bags."

"I think Boo might be correct," Yoshi admitted. Rosalina frowned.

"I'd rather have my bag than lose a little money," Rosalina said reasonably. Yoshi looked at her, then at Blooper, then at Luvbi swimming towards their floating luggage.

"Well, my bag has a chance of being saved after all!" Yoshi said hopefully, peering into the sea at Luvbi and Bobbery. Though not as optimistic as the dinosaur, both Boo and Diddy couldn't help but feel a small sense of false optimism as Luvbi swam towards her secret assignment. Goombella let go of Luvbi's bag and turned back to the ocean.

"Hold it right there!" McHallyboo called out, walking towards the assortment of players. Goombella looked at him with confusion.

"There will be one bag left to save by the time Bobbery arrives back here," the host told her. "Of course, we have to leave it to drama for this final round. You can only depart to the ocean once Bobbery reaches back to shore." The players turned to the host, flabbergasted.

"My bag is still there!" Diddy repeated for the third time. He kicked a pile of sand, sending it flying into the exposed belongings of Wendy's baggage. Wendy looked at her sand-covered clothing, her mouth agape.

"Oh no, you did not just do that!" Wendy shrieked. Boo ducked away at the deadly scene to follow, as the Koopa child took a glowering step towards the monkey. Yoshi laughed, easily amused at the scene of a slow Koopa descendent chasing a skilled, athletic monkey.

"Hey, what's Luvbi doing anyway?" Wario said with confusion. He turned to Blooper, who remained motion-less with his tentacles folded, situated a fair number of feet away from them.

"Hey, squid!" Wario yelled. Blooper remained fixed in his spot, facing the sea.

* * *

Bobbery turned around at the sound of someone swimming towards him. He looked at Luvbi in a dumbfounded manner as she reached the row of bags, gasping for breath. Time was running out.

"What are you doing here?" he asked her. "You have no right to swim!" Luvbi turned to him, keeping the cutting object concealed from him below the water.

"Uhh, Blooper said that...since he was freed, he was able to tell me that I'm a swimmer too," Luvbi said quickly, feeling the sandbag under Diddy's duffel bag.

Bobbery grabbed hold of Boo's sinking bag and cut it free from the sandbag below it, preventing it from a watery grave. He proceeded back with it to the beach, as Luvbi was left alone, gently floating up and down as the waves became increasingly strongly. With the number of remaining bags dwindling, there were only two left in the line.

"An exemption," she repeated, making her way to one of the bags and feeling for the sandbag under it. She grabbed the sharp object tightly.

Luvbi: _I remembered one of the players stating that there was little left in his bag. So I made my decision, quite easily._

She plunged the knife into the sandbag and sliced sideways, ripping a broad hole into it and causing the water to rush into it at hasty speed. As the sandbag got heavier, the bag it was tied to began to lose its buoyancy.

Luvbi swam back as quickly as she had come, reaching the shore of the beach before Diddy's bag had touched the floor of the ocean.

* * *

"My bag," Boo said in a triumphant tone, taking his belongings from Bobbery. Questions began flying from everywhere to Bobbery, the main one being, 'What in heavens is Luvbi doing in the middle of the ocean?'

"All I know is that that fellow Blooper sent her as a swimmer," he replied. "And Goombella, what are you doing here?" Goombella only tilted her head to McHallyboo.

"Oh what?" Wendy exclaimed, pointing at Luvbi as she made her way back to shore.

"Huh, what happened?" asked Goombella, bewildered.

"She has no bag with her!" The players all turned and saw that Wendy was saying the truth: Luvbi was not a swimmer sent to retrieve the sinking luggage. And as Boo looked out at the ocean and saw only one baggage remaining, his mind worked out the only explanation for what Luvbi had done.

"She sank one of the bags, didn't she?" Boo said. Almost immediately, the players were sent into a silent state of shock.

"She wouldn't do that…would she?" Vivian said out loud. Wendy let out a loud groan, glowering towards the direction of Luvbi. Rosalina shook her head.

"Well, I knew a betrayal was coming anyway," she stated. "After all, this game will be full of it."

"Hah, no duh," Wario muttered.

"If she got an exemption…grrr!" Wendy said, folding her arms.

"Oh, and look at that," Bobbery said with concern, peering into the distance." The final bag is sinking."

"Yeah, this is great," Diddy said sarcastically. "So very great." Irate and in disbelief, he sat down on the terrain of the sand. Yoshi simply stared out at the ocean as the final bag sank to the bottom of the ocean, lost at sea and forgotten.

The mission was over.

* * *

"I'm not going to explain my actions," Luvbi said to them, as the remainder of the players met up with her and McHallyboo. With the mission over, the players had nothing left to do but to hear the results of their costly game.

"You don't need to say anything," Boo told her. "We all saw actually" Luvbi looked at the glaring players in front of her uncomfortably.

"You sank my bag!" Diddy exclaimed, livid.

"Well, it was going to sink anyway!" Luvbi told him, rolling her eyes. McHallyboo cleared his throat.

"As you all probably know by now, Luvbi was secretly offered an exemption by our friend Blooper here," McHallyboo informed them. "He was the runner-up of the first season of The Mole." Blooper nodded slightly.

"She was given the option to sink one of the luggage bags by cutting a hole in the sandbag beneath it," he continued. "By doing so, it would cause the luggage to sink immediately to the bottom of the ocean, but in return, would give her the first exemption of this game. Luvbi, would you care to explain what your decision was?"

"I sank a bag," she replied. "You all saw it, didn't you?"

"Well, congratulations to you, Luvbi, because you've officially won the first exemption of this game!" McHallyboo declared, handing her a green-colored card. "You will be excused from the upcoming execution, and therefore cannot be eliminated tonight and will automatically proceed o the next episode. Well done!" Nobody clapped, as Blooper held in his laughter.

"Now, let's see the results of this mission," McHallyboo continued. "Only seven of the ten bags were rescued from sea, so that is 7,000 coins to the pot. However, I'll be penalizing each double-bag retrieval, so that moves it down to only 4,000 coins. All swimmers were freed, which adds 15,000 coins, and the bonus money bag that was floating among your luggage was retrieved as well, adding an additional 5,000 coins. That brings your team pot up an additional 24,000 coins, so well done!" This time, the players clapped, feeling slightly inspired from their first step towards success.

**TEAM POT VALUE**

_**30,000 COINS**_

"Goombella, Diddy, and Yoshi, I'm very sorry to say this, but your bags were not retrieved in time," concluded McHallyboo. "We're sorry for the loss of your belongings, but for the time being you are free to use the clothing and necessities of your roommate's." The three of them shifted uncomfortably, a feeling of gloom sweeping over them.

"Yikes indeed," Blooper couldn't help saying.

* * *

Diddy: _I cannot believe Luvbi decided to do that. My mind is spinning with a million thoughts, and it just sucks. All my belongings I brought with me at the beginning of the trip are gone, and the only thing I have remaining in my possession is the journal I left in my room that I've hardly used at all. This S-U-C-K-S._

Rosalina: _I might have also taken the exemption if I was offered the opportunity. I think it was just unlucky how Luvbi ended up being the one to make the decision. But then again, she put herself in that spot by choosing Journal #3._

Luvbi: _If I'm safe, then I'm concerned about none else. I do take heavy regret in sinking a bag, but it was going to sink regardless. Diddy said himself that he didn't leave too much in there. He was visibly asking for it._

Wendy: _Ugh, Luvbi, I can't believe it…and you call be bad for not deciding to swim? Look at yourself! This game is a hypocrite._

Goombella: _My luggage is gone. Yes, it's gonna be horrible without my clothing, bathroom supplies, souvenirs, what-not. If only I was a fast swimmer, then maybe my bag would have still been here. Or Diddy or Yoshi's bags._

Bobbery: _What strikes me terribly is the possibility that I was the cause of Luvbi's exemption. Had I not brought Blooper back to shore, the exemption wouldn't have been offered. I take partial blame._

Yoshi: _It's going to be hard replacing my belongings, like the pair of boots I had since my 6__th__ birthday. Perhaps I'll just buy enough clothing to survive for three days, and I'll do laundry every three days, which might work out for me! But it's going to be so hard…_

Wario: _The Mole is doing a terrible job! Only six thousand coins were lost from that mission, so I say that he or she is not doing their best. So mister or misses Mole, step up your game or else! Hehehe. I think it's just me who looks at six thousand coins as a puny amount._

Vivian: _The most suspicious action I saw in the last mission we played was Wendy refusing to swim. Did she really hate the water that much? I hope it's not too hard pin-pointing the saboteur of this game._

Boo: _I'm clearly at an advantage over the other players, having watched this game played out before. Some people call it cheating, but it's actually not at all. It'll just lead me closer to the end…_

* * *

Dinner back at the Durian Café that night went less awkwardly compared to the first time the players had eaten there. Not only were they more accustomed to the nature of the game from an overnight stay and an intense mission, but they also became more familiar with the people surrounding them. And while some of the players found them as friends, others couldn't help but view the players around them as threats to their survival.

"Yeah, I know you're trying to get information out of me," Boo finally spoke out, "but don't think that I can't see you writing in your journal." Diddy looked up, caught off guard.

"Darn, you're good," Diddy told him, putting his pen down. "The thing is, I can't write without looking at my paper."

"Can you guys stop writing in your journals and eat?" Wendy asked out loud with disbelief. "You guys are obsessed! Like, really obsessed. It kinda bothers me."

"Ouch!" said Goombella, as Wario sat back down after retrieving his third round of food, bumping into Goombella while doing so.

"The game's going on right this second," Boo reminded her. "Why shouldn't we be taking notes?" McHallyboo, who was located at the end of the table as he would always be for the remainder of the game at every dinner meal, ate and listened intently to the talking around him.

"Well, not saying that I never keep this game in mind," Rosalina told the others, "but right now there's really nothing to do or write about. So while I'm here eating I think I'm going to just enjoy myself." She straightened out her chair and filled up her plate again from the food on the table.

"Some strategy," Bobbery said, stuffing a spoon of seafood pasta into his mouth.

"Bobbery, what's _your_ strategy?" Yoshi asked curiously.

"Why, silly lad," Bobbery replied. "I wouldn't tell you if victory depended on it." Yoshi's smile dropped, then Bobbery added, "At least with not all these people around."

"But I set up the plates and everything," Yoshi protested uselessly. Being a waiter, he indeed was forced to set up the table prior to their arrival. The group of players continued to eat.

"So Luvbi, how do you feel being safe from the first execution?" the host asked her.

"Very lightened," she answered, eating her food. "I'm out of the running for elimination, so I'm completely relaxed." McHallyboo nodded, then faced the others.

"Tonight, you will be facing your first execution," he told them. "You'll all take a quiz consisting of ten questions, asking who you think the Mole is. I know you've been asked yourselves this important question for the many past hours, and now it's time to put your answer to the test. The player who scores the lowest on the quiz, as you all may know, will be eliminated." The players nodded, some of them feeling a wave of uncertainty travel over them.

"Why, perfect; two days is just enough for us to identify the Mole," Bobbery joked, sipping his water.

"Yeah, I'd rather eat than worry about this Mole," Wario said, nearly shoving his glass into the waiters outstretched arms for a refill. Goombella shook her head at Wario's forceful action, then turned to Vivian besides her. Vivian just stared at her plate, a stunned look displayed on her face.

"What's wrong?" Goombella asked her, befuddled. Vivian pointed at the object protruding from under her section of the tablecloth: the crumpled corner of a note. She immediately lifted the fabric in front of her and carefully pulled out the hidden piece of paper. McHallyboo seemed to lean forwards to the opposite side of the table, right towards Vivian's direction.

"Guys, look what I found!" she said, still dazed and holding up the note for the rest of the players to see. Almost immediately, Boo, Diddy, and Wario fought up to grab it from across the table.

"My evidence!" Diddy protested, only to be brought back down by Wendy. Goombella gave Wario a shove so hard that he no longer bothered to continue fidgeting in his chair.

"In where was that located?" Luvbi asked her curiously.

"I found it sticking right out from this table cloth!" Vivian informed them, straightening the crumpled edges of the note out, "But I think it's from…the Mole."

"Read it," said Boo, coming to his senses. Vivian looked over the nearly-illegible words on the piece of paper, then began reading the Mole's first message to the players:

_**A setting here is rather nice**_

_**It's absolutely paradise**_

_**But don't be fooled, cause when it's dawn**_

_**It's ten no more; one will be gone**_

The players laughed uneasily, as McHallyboo reached over the table to retrieve the Mole's note.

"Well, I guess the Mole wants us gone," Wendy said, rolling her eyes. "But too bad for him or her."

"Hey look," Diddy spoke up, pointing at the ceiling. "No durians. I wonder what that could mean. Luvbi?" The players laughed, as Luvbi looked up from her plate, smiled, and shook her head.

Vivian: _I'm not too comfortable going into this first execution. I have no idea who to vote for, and there's always that chance I might be going home._

Boo: _There are some players in this game who are confident, and some who aren't. But just one of them is going to leave._

"To our first and last day as friends," Diddy spoke out. The others lifted their drinks in unison, bracing themselves for the disappearance of one of their friends.

And so began the game's first step towards the process of elimination. The Mole's first victim would soon be claimed.

* * *

_Back at the hotel, the players were sequestered into separate rooms to take the first quiz: ten questions about the Mole. The player who scored the lowest on the quiz would be executed, and would be forced to leave the game immediately._

Boo sat down at the computer and seated himself comfortably. He clicked on the mouse and activated his quiz.

_**Question 1: Is the Mole male or female?**_

_**-Male**_

_**-Female**_

Boo: _This game is all about chances and who you think the Mole is. You never know what you're going to get. At this point I'm staying solid with my coalition with Wario, and we'll see how that plays out._

_**Question 2: When did the Mole skydive from the plane during Air Combination?**_

_**-First**_

_**-Second**_

_**-Third**_

_**-Fourth**_

_**-Fifth**_

_**-Sixth**_

_**-The Mole did not jump from the plane**_

Rosalina: _My suspicions are definitely on the people who stopped jumping from the plane, because since the combination was wrong anyway, it was impossible to have won the ten thousand coins. From what I know, Diddy suggested the idea first, then Luvbi agreed, and then finally Bobbery._

_Flashback __**Tandem Instructor: **__"Is that a game end?" (Goombella nods)_

_**Question 3: When the players were first dropped off at the island in the beginning of the game, was the Mole one of the first or second half of the players to step off from the boat?**_

_**-First Half**_

_**-Second Half**_

Yoshi: _I think Wendy might be the Mole, because in the beginning she was acting too friendly and trying to make us all comfortable. I think she was trying to make us believe she wasn't the Mole by acting nice. I don't know. It seemed very out of character for her._

_**Question 4: Which of these hotel rooms was the Mole assigned to?**_

_**-Room 101**_

_**-Room 102**_

_**-Room 103**_

_**-Room 104**_

_**-Room 105**_

Vivian: _Wario is a bit suspicious in my mind, for a number of reasons. I think he would be chosen as the Mole just on the fact that not many people would suspect him as being the saboteur. Maybe he's trying to cover the whole truth up by acting tough and "brainless". On top of that, he was the main mess-up for the wrong combination in our first mission._

_**Question 5: Which role did the Mole have in Bag Savers?**_

_**-A Swimmer**_

_**-The Number Messenger**_

_**-Durian Combination Retriever **_

_**-Lobster Combination Retriever**_

_**-Hotel Combination Retriever**_

Luvbi: _It could be Bobbery, because he's an admiral, respected, and of course he's an exceptional swimmer. But he lost money by bringing back two bags at a time, and so did Goombella. I'm keeping a tight eye on the two of them from now on._

Wario: _Diddy has been very fishy, even from the start. __When I was searching for lobsters in the deeper water, I turned to Diddy and he was practically doing nothing. It was something I found suspicious because he was obviously letting me do all the work. _

_**Question 6: When did the Mole's team arrive at the beach during the course of Bag Savers?**_

_**-The Mole was always at the beach**_

_**-First **_

_**-Second**_

_**-Third**_

Bobbery: _Yoshi told me about how when Vivian was trying to remove the durian juice from the blender, she managed to spill some onto the table, nearly forcing the two of them to blend another round of juice. Ever since she was the first to hear that beeping noise on the island, I've been suspicious of her_.

_**Question 7: Was the Mole's baggage salvaged from sinking?**_

_**-Yes**_

_**-No**_

Wendy: _Luvbi is clearly one of my top enemies and suspects. She purposely chose me to be a swimmer even though I didn't want to swim, so if anybody says it's my fault for not trying to save any bags, you're completely wrong. And Luvbi taking the exemption made her even more suspicious in my mind._

Diddy: _One of the players that everyone is disregarding is Rosalina. She guessed a wrong combination more than once during Bag Savers, which wasted a lot of time. She could have gotten the correct combination much sooner than she had done so._

_**Question 8: The Mole's birthday falls into which of the months?**_

_**-January to March**_

_**-April to June**_

_**-July to September**_

_**-October to December**_

Goombella: _Just the fact that Boo has seen the show before is very fishy. He obviously knows a lot of stuff about this game than we know. Would the producers really choose him to play as a regular contestant? It would make perfect sense if he was the Mole._

_**Question 9: At dinner before the players took the quiz, how many seats away was the Mole from McHallyboo?**_

_**-One **_

_**-Two**_

_**-Three**_

_**-Four**_

_**-Five**_

And the final question that summed up the entire game:

_**Question 10: Who is the Mole?**_

_**-Luvbi**_

_**-Boo**_

_**-Wendy**_

_**-Diddy**_

_**-Goombella**_

_**-Yoshi**_

_**-Rosalina**_

_**-Wario**_

_**-Bobbery**_

_**-Vivian**_

* * *

Having finished their quizzes, all ten players were instantly sent to the lobby of the hotel for their first execution ceremony. Stepping over a row of their luggage, they were directed to two rows of seats situated directly in front of a large screen. The players saw that directly adjacent to the giant screen was their host, tapping his fingers and waiting for all ten of them to take their seats. Positioned in front of him was a pedestal with a keyboard placed on top of it, and as the players took their seats in puzzlement and apprehension, he finally spoke.

"Welcome to your very first execution," McHallyboo said, his tone being significantly softer than usual. "You've all just finished taking your first quiz about the Mole. Whichever player had scored the lowest on that quiz will be executed." The players nodded silently, their minds in a mixture of focus and uneasiness.

"In a moment, I will begin entering your names into this computer," he explained. "If a green screen appears after your name is typed in, you are safe. However, if a red screen appears, that means that you are the Mole's first victim, and you must leave this game immediately." In response to this, the players sat rigid in their chairs. In seconds to come, one of them would be the first to leave the adventure of their game.

"Luvbi, you are exempt from this execution, so you will be safe," the host added. Luvbi nodded in confirmation.

"Is everyone else ready?" the host asked. As the players nodded, McHallyboo eyed each one of them briefly before looking down at his keyboard, his fingers ready to type.

"Let us begin the first execution." He looked at the player seated in the center of the first row: Wendy.

"Wendy," the host said out loud. Wendy looked forwards at the screen and stared at it, watching her name being typed in letter by letter. Once the screen displayed her first name, the host then pressed 'Enter', and the screen displayed nothing but a thumbprint on a dark background. The next color would determine her fate.

W-E-N-D-Y

...

...

...

...

**GREEN**

Wendy let out her breath, satisfied. One green thumbprint had been declared. Only a maximum of eight remained.

"Rosalina," said McHallyboo. Rosalina watched her name slowly appear on the screen as the host typed it in.

R-O-S-A-L-I-N-A

...

...

...

...

**GREEN**

She closed her eyes momentarily and then opened them, relaxed. McHallyboo looked at Diddy next.

"Diddy," said the host, as Diddy looked at the screen, his face in a half-smile of uneasiness.

D-I-D-D-Y

...

...

...

...

**GREEN**

The other's saw Diddy's face break into a grin, as he shook his head. Wendy shook her head as well. McHallyboo looked at the remaining players, then pointed at Vivian.

"Vivian," he said out loud, his voice in a different tone. Vivian's mouth opened, her eyes dilating with fear as the host typed her name into the screen.

V-I-V-I-A- N

...

...

...

...

**GREEN**

Her eyes widened, feeling more surprised than ever. Then the host turned to look at the player situated on the far left.

"Yoshi," the host said, typing in his name. Yoshi sat up straight and gulped, facing the screen with uncertainty.

Y-O-S-H-I

...

...

...

...

**GREEN**

He let out a sigh of relief and sank back into his chair. Five players had been declared safe. Only the other half left remaining.

"Boo," said the host. Boo stared at the screen monitor closely as the host typed in his name.

B-O-O

...

...

...

...

_**RED**_

Goombella gasped. The players stared in disbelief at the shade of red that reflected off from the screen, as Boo looked down at the floor, defeated.

"Boo, you have been executed," the host stated. "Please grab your bag and follow me."

After a few seconds, Boo got up from his seat and walked to the row of bags, grabbing his own baggage from among the rest. Then, he followed McHallyboo out through the front door of the lobby. The players simply sat where they were, in silence.

"I…don't know what to say," Diddy said with bewilderment.

"But how?" Wendy exclaimed. "He knew everything about this game! He was supposed to win!" The other players could only agree with her statement, still dazed at the outcome of their first execution. Boo, the expert of their game, was gone.

* * *

"How do you feel being the first player executed?" McHallyboo asked Boo, as he and the Mole's first victim stepped out into the open, tropical air.

"It was just so sudden," Boo replied. "I had the whole game set in my mind, but I knew one of us was leaving. My execution was all due to chance, and I was duped."

* * *

"Boo was one of the most intelligent players in this game," Rosalina said, feeling downhearted by his disappearance. "I'm just in disbelief that he was the first to go."

(_flashback __**Boo**__: "We're being penalized every time we bring two bags back." The players turn to him in realization)_

"I thought it would be me," Vivian said truthfully. "I was clueless on that quiz."

"He was a great player," Wario couldn't help adding. "I can't believe I'm here and he's not, not to mention how much better he was in smarts compared to me." The other laughed lightly in comprehension.

_(flashback of Boo skydiving in the air, grinning with exhilaration from their first mission)_

"I think his execution taught us all a lesson," Goombella said, "that no matter how much you know about this game, the only thing that'll keep you alive is if you know who the Mole is."

* * *

"It's been so great to be part of this, be it just the first episode," Boo told the host, as he stepped onto the scheduled ferry for the Mushroom Kingdom. "Thanks for having me, and good luck to the others."

"My pleasure, and thank you for being a player!" McHallboo said back. He gave a signal to the driver of the ferry to go ahead.

Boo looked at Delfino Plaza one last time before entering into the passenger compartment of the miniature boat. And as the boat drifted away from the resort, it left one player less from the tropical paradise, from the others, from the game. One was gone.

Just as the Mole predicted.

* * *

_On the next episode of The Mole: Saboteur's Island:_

The players are forced to host the most exotic party conceivable.

Bobbery: This is something I've done countless times when I was young. No big problem.

Wario: Yeah, sheesh. Like people would want to party on an island in the middle of nowhere.

_Then a race at night puts the players at risk of being left behind. And at the end, who will be claimed as the Mole's second victim? _

_And most importantly, who is the Mole?_

* * *

**The Mole's first victim! And it's a shock to the players, as well as the Mole. ****But who is the saboteur of this "vacation"?**

**Updates: I opened a poll on my front page, giving you the chance to answer that very question for yourselves (and up to two guesses). Also, "The Pictures" for this story starts off with a logo for the new season, which can be found on my profile so be sure to check that out as well.**

**Thanks to all, and stay tuned for the next episode!**


	6. Hosting a Party

** The first episode is over, but the game has just begun. Enjoy the second!**

**P.S. If my promise keeps true, I'll be updating this story every week/end from now, haha.  
**

* * *

**Episode 2**

_Just two days ago, the journey of deceit and discovery for ten players had begun. But for one of them last night, their journey was cut short. Boo, the expert of this game and the most advantaged player of the group, or at least appeared to be, found himself last night as the Mole's first victim, leaving the players in a state of shock and perplexity. Little did they know that Boo's execution would be just one of the many surprises they would encounter throughout this game. Because forced to follow him until the end will be seven others. Who is the players causing this? That player is a fake, a betrayer who is sabotaging the efforts of the others. That player is…the Mole._

* * *

Who is the Mole?

**Bobbery**

_Surname:_ Keelers

_Birthday:_ August 17

_Occupation:_ Admiral

**Wario**

_Surname:_ Garlimo

_Birthday:_ September 29

_Occupation:_ Moneylender/Explorer

**Rosalina**

_Surname:_ Galaxye

_Birthday:_ January 5

_Occupation:_ Flight Attendant

**Yoshi**

_Surname:_Dino

_Birthday:_April 13

_Occupation:_Fruiterer/Waiter

**Wendy**

_Surname:_ Koopa

_Birthday:_ November 7

_Occupation:_ Singer/Dressmaker

**Goombella**

_Surname:_Frankster

_Birthday:_April 16

_Occupation:_ Archeologist

**Vivian**

_Surname:_ Shadens

_Birthday:_October 4

_Occupation:_ Visual Display Artist

**Diddy**

_Surname__:_ Kong

_Birthday__:_ October 21

_Occupation__:_ Competitive Kart Racer

**Luvbi**

_Surname:_Nimbis

_Birthday:_May 5

_Occupation:_Harpist/Oracle

* * *

Wario: _Boo's gone, which just kills me! If only he was still here, using his smarts to help me to the end, along with himself. It stinks all right._

Rosalina: _Passing the first execution makes me really relieved. I'm very sad that one of us had to go, but I'm just glad it wasn't me._

Luvbi: _I'm very fortunate to be here, and I hope the Mole won't be getting too much into our playing field for the rest of the game. But unfortunately, I'm sure that won't be so._

* * *

The morning after the execution was tiring, to say the least. For most of the players, it was a relief, with the smell of the tropical air being a reminder to them that their game was not yet over. But for one of the players, their awakening was quickly followed by a state of terror.

"Bobbery's gone!" Yoshi screamed, looking over at the bed besides him and getting up to his feet. "He's not here! Where is he?! Somebody, hellllpppp mee!!" Next door, Goombella stirred from her sleep.

"Who's that yelling?" she asked. Wendy turned to her.

"I don't really hear anyone," she replied. Vivian, who was already awake long before the other two, got out of the bathroom.

"Oh, we should go down now," Vivian remembered, "because McHallyboo said he wanted us down before eight o'clock." By that time, Yoshi had stopped yelling.

* * *

Rosalina and Luvbi were the first ones down from their rooms, or at least after Diddy, as the two of them saw him already eating his food at the breakfast table.

"Oh wow, you're a bit early," Rosalina commented, seeing Diddy minding his own business.

"I guess you can sleep better without a roommate," Diddy realized. Last night, Diddy couldn't help but feel the tiniest of awkwardness as he slept next to a bed that was just occupied the day before. He sighed, as Luvbi took a seat next to him.

"You're aggravated still, are you not?" she asked him.

"Well…I'm better from a six-hour sleep," he told her, then grinned.

"Hey, like what's up?" Wendy said out loud, coming from the set of stairs. "We all survived a new episode!"

"He's goooone!" shouted a voice from behind her, as Yoshi dashed her way past the startled Koopa to the table. He reached the other flabbergasted players, panting heavily and his hands moving in a motion of frenzy.

"I don't know where he is!" Yoshi said, his voice terrified. "He was right there last night, and I saw him last night in his bed, and now it's empty! Help!"

"McHallyboo?" Diddy asked, raising his eyebrow.

"Admiral Bobbery!" All three females from Room 104 finally met up with the other players at the table. Vivian went to grab a citrus fruit from the table.

"Wait a second," Goombella said, immediately reminded of an incident from the first season of their game. "In Season One, there was a mission where one of the players was kidnapped from their room and held hostage at a secret location."

"If only one of us had seen the entirety of that season," Vivian said. The others were suddenly reminded of their fellow teammate who had met his unfortunate fate just the night before, as they seemed to all share a moment of misfortune. Vivian shrugged.

"Well, I guess none of us here has," Rosalina said gloomily.

"Wait, hold it," Wendy said, looking around at the others. "Wario's also gone."

"Ah, perfect timing," said McHallyboo, appearing behind them. The players couldn't determine whether McHallyboo had rapidly walked down the set of stairs before any of them had noticed him, or if he had been hiding behind one of the numerous tables located around the eating area all along, timing his moment to come into view. Either way, the players were baffled by his sudden appearance.

"I see you're wearing the same clothes from yesterday," McHallyboo noticed, looking at Diddy. Diddy frowned.

"I didn't have a roommate to borrow clothing from, much like some others did," he reasoned. The players turned to Yoshi and saw that he was wearing a thin sweater, too large for his size. The clothes Goombella was wearing were a perfect match for her, to no surprise.

"Well, today's mission has nothing else at risk besides money, so no worries," the host informed them. "Now, you may have noticed that two of your teammates are missing. This morning, they were both brought to an island."

"Why would you ever do that?" Vivian asked.

"Well, of course you don't know why," the host continued. "They're preparing for the party you guys are going to host." The players stared at McHallyboo, bewildered.

"For your next mission, you'll be hosting a party on an island at 3 P.M. sharp," he explained. "And your goal is to obtain at least 750 coins from the entire thing, which of course would all be donated to charity in the end. If you're successful, we will add 20,000 to your pot. But we'll award you with 10,000 coins if you are able to earn just half of that."

"Oh, wow," Goombella said, laughing. Everyone seemed anxious yet excited, especially Wendy.

Wendy: _I live on parties and fun, but a party during a game like this? Totally sweet!_

Vivian: _Just the whole thought of it was crazy. I knew it would be fun, but at the same time extremely difficult._

"In order to make this mission successful, you'll have to even out the parts," the host went on. "Both Bobbery and Wario were selected to prepare the party and actually set up the darn thing, so you guys will have nothing to worry about that. The seven of you are only responsible for two things: giving out the fliers and finding auction items. Each ticket to the party will cost five coins, so each person who decides to go adds that much towards your goal."

"So if one hundred and fifty people decide to attend, we win, right?" Rosalina questioned. McHallyboo nodded.

"You'll also have the auction to help you out," McHallyboo told them. "You will be hosting the auction right before the end of the party, and the money earned from bids will be added to your goal pot. That being, you must find the objects for your auction. You are not allowed more than five, and you cannot buy them."

"So technically, people have to give us the items," Diddy confirmed.

"That's correct," said the host. "You should hope the people around Delfino Plaza are generous." The players nodded in understanding.

"Well, the boat to the island will be leaving at 2:00 P.M, so might as well start as soon as possible," said McHallyboo. "Your mission begins now." He tapped the silver button on his watch.

"Okay, let's go!" Yoshi said out loud, grabbing Diddy's arm.

"Wait a slight second," Luvbi noticed. "Where exactly are the fliers for this party?"

"You are free to use the computer on that table to make them," McHallyboo said, pointing. "However, the printer is set to a three-hundred page limit, so plan accordingly if you can." All seven of them headed quickly towards the computer in the back of the eating area. As Diddy shook the mouse to turn the monitor on, he immediately faced a Word document on the screen. It was an unsaved file.

"Wait, what is…this?" Diddy asked, not bothering to read the words on the page. "I think somebody must have typed something and forgotten to close it."

"If it's information about this game, I wouldn't dare read it," Luvbi said, looking at it hesitantly.

"No, it's a message from Blooper!" Vivian said quickly, seeing the writer's name at the bottom of the page. The seven of them immediately turned their attention to the letter, directed to none other than them.

_Dear players of this second game,_

_This game will be nothing short of hard. As soon as you realize how complex it is, you're already out of the game. It's like a car hitting you when you lose, because you never know if what you're doing is good and bad, or right or wrong. And as soon as you think you have victory, the losing side suddenly snatches you up like a velociraptor, having been preying on you from the very start of the game._

_But it's also nothing short of fun. The game you are playing will bring you into the most diverse world you can ever imagine, full of adventure and deceit. And when it's all over, you're going to realize how much you miss it. _

_One thing is sure: you're definitely in for a vacation. Nothing else left to tell you, but good luck._

_Signed,  
_

_Blooper Inke_

* * *

"Why did they pick me to do all of this?" Wario complained, picking up a chair and tossing it to its side insensitively. Bobbery had already begun setting up the eating tables for their island party, dusting the sand off from the surface of each one. Surrounding them was a plethora of sea water: they were both left alone on an island, with only one or two camera men hiding in the tropical bushes to record their every move.

"Stop blabbering and help me," Bobbery said, flipping over the last wooden table to its correct position. "To set up a party, you have to make it visually nice. We need a welcoming banner, for sure." He turned to the large pile of decoration supplies McHallyboo had left for them to use.

"All right," Wario muttered, having no choice but to work. "Say, if I set up the eating tables, then you have to set up the banner." Each table consisted of enough room to hold twenty party-people.

"Hold it! I already set up the tables," Bobbery pointed out, furrowing his eyebrows. "But perhaps you can put the chairs up in their proper places , and maybe give the table tops another clean through." He tossed a container of disinfectant wipes to Wario.

"That's all we have to do, right?" said Wario. Bobbery frowned.

"Why, I've already planned everything in my head!" the sea captain told him. "The banner, the eating tables, the dance arena, the auction arranging…did I mention the volleyball game?" Wario let out a groan of displeasure.

* * *

"Yep, it's done!" Vivian said, as Yoshi and Diddy went over to see what the females had come up with.

"You made our flier on Microsoft Word," said Diddy in a ridiculing voice.

"Hey! At least we didn't just sit around and not do anything," Wendy snapped. Yoshi smiled at the design.

"I like it!" he said, giving it a thumbs-up. "Uh, great job. Though I have to say that the title sounds kinda violent." On the top of their page was the title of their party: _Island Bash_.

"Free drinks, volley ball game…dance floor?!" Diddy read. "On an island? Since when?"

"Don't ask us," Luvbi told him. "It was the host's order to incorporate it." Diddy scrutinized the page even more.

"Take away the hearts," he said, raising an eyebrow. "Too many." Yoshi face dropped as Rosalina deleted the various heart designs situated on the border of the flier.

"Good now?" Goombella said finally. Diddy nodded. The design of their flier had taken around twenty minutes to create, and the clock already read 8:48 in the morning. As they pressed the Print button on the computer, the printer seemed to take a mind of its own as it rapidly printed out 300 copies of the same exact paper. Once it had finished its job, it was 8:50 A.M.

"So let's go!" Goombella said, grabbing the papers. They proceeded to exit the hotel, only to be stopped by the host.

"Wait one second, players," McHallyboo said, taking out a megaphone and handing it to Diddy. "I think you'll find this helpful." The seven of them then exited the building, ready to start the first mission of their second episode.

"Okay, so let's plan," Diddy announced, once they were outside. "We need people to give out the fliers, and people to find the objects for the auction."

"Oh!" said Yoshi, getting an idea. "The dock will probably have new tourists coming in every thirty minutes, so if I just wait there and give them fliers to our party, they might be interested in attending."

"Smart," Diddy told him, handing him approximately one-hundred fliers. Yoshi looked pleased.

"Rosalina and I will beg for items," Goombella said jokingly.

"Count me in with you guys!" Wendy said, going to Rosalina and Goombella's side. "I would rather search for objects for an auction than just give out paper to random people."

"Okay then, the three of you will be the auction hunters," Diddy confirmed. "I think Luvbi and I will be using the megaphone. And Vivian, you can go wherever you want and give out the fliers." Vivian looked immediately unsure.

"I don't feel confident giving out fliers alone," she admitted. "Can I stay with you guys instead?"

"Of course," Luvbi said quickly. Vivian nodded, grateful.

"Okay," Diddy said, going over the list of roles in his head quickly. "We're all ready. Let's get this party prepared!" The other shouted lightly in unison, as the three groups headed off in their separate directions.

Vivian: _I didn't want to be alone, because being in a group and handing out advertisements is so much better than being left alone and trying to do the same thing._

* * *

"I'm finished with the table cleaning, so you better--- wheouw!" Wario said with surprise, looking up at the banner Bobbery had set up. It was approximately fifteen feet in length, and held up by two poles on both sides so that the arriving guests could easily walk right under it as soon as they were to get off the boat. The banner read, "Island Bash" in a mixture of green and beige colors, having the title of their party matching the theme of an island.

"Oh, great work!" Bobbery stated, glancing over at the dining area that Wario had set up. "It's spick and span, and presentable." Wario grumbled.

"You forced me to do it," Wario told him.

"All for the success of a mission, no?" Bobbery reminded him. "From what McHallyboo said, the guests are free to refund their tickets if they don't enjoy the party."

"What?" Wario replied in disbelief. "Those cheapos! I'll sue whoever decides to do that." Bobbery turned his eyes to the two leftover poles remaining on the sand.

"That's why we should make the party fun," he continued, "So they won't bother to refund. And to make it fun, we have to make a volleyball net."

"No, I'm not making one," Wario said gruffly.

"You're making one, and that's quite final," Bobbery said in a definite voice. "Unless you don't want to eat…" Wario turned to him with a laugh.

Bobbery: _I've been quite experienced in psychology, and the way to make somebody do something they don't want to do is if you include a threat somewhere in your sentence._

"You can't do that to me!" Wario said mockingly. Bobbery gave him an unfathomable look, giving Wario the feeling that perhaps Bobbery did have a concealed way of preventing him from eating anything that night. Wario looked at Bobbery, more unnerved than ever.

"Uhh, I'll do it right now," Wario told him, hurriedly picking up the poles from the sandy floor.

* * *

Yoshi leaned against the side of the building, stacking his papers in an orderly fashion. In front of him was the Delfino Plaza dock, the spot where all new tourists would be passing through as they entered into the resort. Yoshi hummed happily, waiting for the boat of of new visitors to arrive.

Yoshi: _I did have a slight feeling at first that the next boat wouldn't be until two hours later. It was rather embarrassing just standing there._

* * *

After considering for a moment where the best spot for their publicity would be, Diddy, Luvbi, and Vivian settled for the middle region of the plaza. The dock for the passageway of water that invaded into the middle section of the plaza was located directly in front of them.

"Well, here's a good spot," Vivian decided, smiling.

"And right in front of a dock!" Diddy assured, taking out his megaphone. "Best spot ever." Luvbi looked at the incoming boat carefully and shook her head.

"I assume that the dock is only for importing and exporting materials," Luvbi told him. But Diddy just switched on the megaphone from behind his back.

"I'll be the speaker," he decided. "The two of you can split this paper pile fifty-fifty and hand out the fliers."

"Like, just give it to them?" Vivian asked with uncertainty.

"Be as forceful as you can," Diddy suggested. "Forceful, but greeting." Both Luvbi and Vivian took an equal amount of fliers into their hands, ready to give them out to anyone who passed by.

Vivian: _I just felt so nerve-wracked at that moment. Presenting myself in front of people is something that I obviously don't specialize in, so I was extremely nervous, even with two other people on my side._

"Ready?" Diddy whispered. After a moment, they both nodded.

"Ladies and gentlemen, vacationers of all sort, we are proud to announce the existence of our upcoming party that will take place this very afternoon!" Diddy said grandly into the megaphone. Vivian and Luvbi flashed their best smiles as the people around them, mostly tourists, stopped suddenly in their tracks and looked in oddity at the three of them.

"The fliers!" Diddy hissed. Luvbi suddenly jumped up.

"Ah yes, uh, in schedule for this afternoon at three P.M. sharp!" Luvbi said in an enthusiastic tone, as the first brave individual grabbed a flier from her hands. "The party is set on a rather majestic island, consisting of the most luxurious island food, and complete with a dance floor and a volleyball game for all ages to take pleasure in."

"Umm, if you, umm," Vivian started, suddenly becoming timid in front of the various strangers before her. Luvbi opened her mouth as if saying to her, _Go on and talk; you're on the top seat._

"If you…want to have a good time then just come to the party," Vivian finished quickly.

"I want to have a good time!" said a Pianta in tourist attire, stepping forwards. "What time is the boat leaving?" As more curious and interested people went to take a flier each from them, Vivian smiled in relief at Luvbi, who winked back. Diddy simply kept his talking, his contented voice projecting over the entire square and being heard by anyone within it.

* * *

Rosalina, Goombella, and Wendy were busy with their own separate task: finding objects for the auction that would take place at the end of their party. If the money earned from their tickets wasn't enough, then the auction would be their only available boost to reach their goal of 750 coins.

"Okay, so like, what will we need?" Wendy asked. The three of them had only just begun their exploration for their auction merchandise.

"Well, these will be in an auction," Goombella said to them, thinking. "So we have to go for items that people will want to bid on. We don't want to select junk, because according to logic nobody would want to buy junk."

"But people will have to be willing to give these items away," Rosalina remembered. "I mean, not to be covetous or anything, but if I were asked to give things away I'd give away my junk objects first." Wendy laughed, sharing the same thought as well.

"I would so do that, also," Wendy said, as the three of them turned the corner of the walkway.

"Well, maybe the people here are generous," Goombella considered. "It's all cheerful paradise after all, and surely the people around here can give a lending hand." The three of them noticed a row of fruit sellers against the side of the building, directly behind where Diddy and the other were giving their party promoting.

"Fruit?" Wendy said hopelessly. "I wish though."

"Well, yeah," Goombella told her, her hope fading. "I was thinking of perhaps making an exotic smoothie, but…that probably wouldn't sell for too high around here."

"And we can't really sell a smoothie at an auction," Rosalina added, amused. "Say, why don't we stop by that boat house souvenir shop and search for an object there?"

"What boat house shop?" Wendy asked, looking at Rosalina. "I don't remember a souvenir shop at all!"

"No, I saw one right by the dock where we got off," Rosalina told her. "I stopped by there the other day and saw some really interesting things."

"Well, it's worth a try," Goombella said. "Seeing that we're kinda…is that Diddy's voice?" The other two stopped and listened to the dominant voice that seemed to come from the air above them. The three of them laughed.

* * *

"Wario, err, punch if I must say," Bobbery ordered, directing Wario's attention to the sand.

"Hey!" Wario suddenly remembered, glaring at Bobbery. "You're the one who called me foolish for punching the sand!"

"Since when?" Bobbery replied in denial.

"When we all got off the boat in the very beginning," Wario said heatedly. Bobbery seemed to nod slowly.

"Well...might as well not argue now," he said, pointing to the sand. "So punch the sand so we can be finished sooner." Wario did so, his punch this time around being visibly powerful than the one he had done at the beginning of the game. He and Bobbery lifted the pole up and plunged it into the hole that was created, then smoothed the leftover space with sand. Their volleyball net was finished, or at least half of it was.

"This is pathetic," Wario admitted. "We're having a party on an island."

"This is something I've done countless times when I was young," Bobbery countered. "No big problem."

"Yeah, sheesh," Wario muttered. "Like people would want to party on an island in the middle of nowhere." The two of them proceeded to set up the second half of their volleyball net, as the clock struck ten in the tropical morning.

* * *

**How successful will the players' party be, if at all? And will anything go wrong? (a question quite pointless to ask with the fact that the Mole is among them).**

**Please review! ****Episode 2 continues, as the players take part in their third mission! **


	7. Arguements Ahoy!

**The mission goes on! (and so does the deceit).  
**

* * *

_**Episode 1: Part 2**_

"Over there, that's the boathouse!" Rosalina told them, stopping Wendy from running past the wooden pathway that extended out from the main dock, located adjacent to the Durian Café. The three of them ran onto the dock and entered into the isolated house, much to the surprise of the boatman.

"Why, hello hello," greeted the raccoon, apparently the owner of the building. "You three are here to give me blue coins, hmm?"

"Hi, we're actually looking for items for this auction we're going to hold," Goombella explained, looking at the numerous items upon the single shelf behind him. She looked perplexed, along with Wendy and Rosalina.

"Are you looking for shine sprites?" he questioned. "Why, that's all I can give you. This is a boat house."

"Wait, what?" Wendy said, baffled. "So this isn't a souvenir shop?" As the boatman shook his head, Wendy turned to Rosalina questionably.

Wendy: _Rosalina brought us all the way to a building saying that it was a souvenir shop where we could easily get stuff, but it turned out not to be one at all. _

"Oh, I must have been mistaken," Rosalina told them in realization, looking around at the interior of the building, "But I'm certain there's a souvenir shop around here somewhere in Delfino Plaza" The tanooki raccoon looked as confused as ever.

"You girls seem to be in a frantic situation, I see," he told them. "Do you want items?"

"Yes, we're looking for objects for an auction," Rosalina went on. "We're playing a game, and our goal is to find objects for this auction at the end of a party we're hosting---" She stopped as the boatman turned around and reached for one of the objects upon the shelf, as the three females exchanged excited glances of triumph.

"Oh, thank you greatly!" Goombella said with appreciation, as the generous Tanooki turned around with an odd object in his hands.

"Ahh, I hope you like this," he said almost proudly, putting upon the desk a glass bottle with a blue-colored coin within it. He lifted it up and gave it a shook, then held it up to their eyes so they could see it better.

"An impossible situation!" he said with a grin, as the three players of them smiled, all but Wendy smiling in artificial agreement. He handed it to Wendy.

"Thanks, sooo much!" Wendy exclaimed with satisfaction. "We can really use this for the auction. One for five!" Her eyes then caught onto another object, located at the very left end of the shelf. It was a ceramic figure of a dolphin.

"Can we..have that?" Wendy said, her eyes gleaming with admiration at the small figure. The boatman seemed surprised.

Goombella: _Wendy just wanted that figurine so badly, but I knew she was wasting time because no way would a guy be willing to give two items away in like, less than a minute._

"Well, I wouldn't necessarily need it anymore," he said with uncertainty, "but at the same time, I wouldn't necessarily give it to you for free." Goombella suddenly jumped up with her last resort idea, and fished out a handful of red coins from her back pocket.

"I brought some money just in case," Goombella stated, counting the value of the money she was holding. "Is…twenty-six coins enough for you to give that to us?" It only took the raccoon a momentary pause to accept the offer. After the trade, the three players left the building, two items richer.

"Oh, I wish I had brought some money with me," Rosalina said regretfully. Wendy took out the three coins from her jacket.

"I'm usually richer than this," she said, handing the money to Goombella. Goombella declined.

"Okay, if you want to say it like that," Wendy told her, "then I guess I'm forced to buy lunch then." The three of them laughed, stepping onto the main dock and continuing their exploration for unwanted items.

* * *

"Yes, thank you!" an excited tourist lady told Diddy, grabbing a flier from Vivian's hand before she could properly hand it to her. The lady immediately darted off, assumingly to her significant other in hopes of his approval.

"It's a wonderful island," Luvbi said, lying to a tourist who had asked her if she had ever been to the party location before. "In the midst of this very morning to be truthful, we tested the rich, fertile ground and determined that it was in fulsome condition. It's just splendid."

"An island with rich…fertile ground?" the tourist repeated, bewildered, "Err, thanks. I'll…consider it." He took a flier from her and left, as Luvbi looked after him with a glance of dissatisfaction.

"I hope you haven't been saying that to everyone," Diddy said, as the crowd around them seemed to disappear. They approached the state of popularity in where only once every half-minute would a passing individual be willing to take a flier from them, either to read it with interest or in hopes of making it into the best paper airplane.

Vivian: _Luvbi talked to some of the tourists she gave fliers out to, which makes me believe that perhaps she may have said some things to convince them not to go to the party. If she were the Mole._

"You can make really good paper airplanes with these," Diddy commented, grabbing a flier from the floor and folding it. Vivian thought of the idea and giggled.

"Then the word would spread to other people if the party advertisements were to fly through the air," she said thoughtfully. Diddy finished his constructing, and with curiosity on its ability to sail through the air, threw the paper airplane towards the end of the dock. Unsurprisingly, this was seen by more than one person.

"Hey, no littering here!" hollered a Koopa-Troopa wearing a boater hat, standing just a few feet away from their spot and pointing an accusing finger at Diddy. "You, the monkey! I saw that."

"I was sending this to you!" Diddy convinced him, trying to turn the appearance of his random action into a seemingly good cause. "Want to join the party?"

"I've gotten that advertisement numerous times," he ridiculed, "for that party on a deserted island." Luvbi's mouth dropped wide open as Diddy took a step towards the conceited city local.

Luvbi: _ Diddy started this fight one hour into our game, and he was simply going to blow. Probably from all the stress built up on him, because I myself felt a tone degraded from passing out fliers. It's a peasant's job._

"Hey!" Diddy shouted back, giving the Koopa-Troopa his most threatening glare, one that not even Vivian found the slightest of menacing, "I challenge you to a party competition! Most players that attend to their party wins. Unless you want to chicken out!"

"In another life perhaps," Luvbi told Diddy, pulling him back, "but right now, stop being absurd, hush, and help us win this game instead of bringing unwanted attention towards us." Diddy's opponent gave him a dry laugh, then coughed slightly.

"I would if I were forced to," the Koopa-Troopa said, then walked off.

"I'm not being forced to do this either! This is a game! I can do anything! Anything that you can't do! Ha, I won already!" Luvbi brought the fuming Diddy back to their stand.

* * *

As soon as the net was set up, Wario and Bobbery began testing their so-called masterpiece. In order to do so, they challenged each other to a brief one-on-one volleyball game.

**Score:** _Wario- 7, Bobbery- 1_

"Oomph!," Bobbery grunted, as the ball landed directly on the sand in front of him before he could attempt his dive. "Volleyball is rather rough on me." He tossed it back to Wario, who instead spiked it directly back over the net.

"I want to only play volleyball during the party!" Wario said, his voice mimicking that of a disobedient ten year old.

"By all means, who wouldn't?" Bobbery pointed out, putting the ball away and cutting their game short. "Who told us that we couldn't enjoy the festivities with the rest of the partiers? After all, we did prepare it."

"Well, you know how it is," Wario said. "We might have to do an extra mission. That McHallyboo is always getting on my nerves. Too mysterious! And crazy. I could even make a better host than him!" Bobbery laughed.

Wario: _People really can get on my nerves. But the good thing about that? Those players have a chance of being eliminated. But if it's the HOST who's getting on your nerves, then you're in trouble. I think I might start to hate this game… _

"I'd say he's a rather appropriate one," Bobbery replied, gazing at the back of the island. Their party area of the island only occupied a fourth of the available terrain of the floating island, most of it being blocked by the jungle-like flora that covered three-fourths of the island.

Bobbery: _The island was enormous. Based on philosophy and judgment, I knew that the game would expand more on the fact that there was so much room left for us to walk on._

"In other words, bad host," Wario added, snorting.

"No, perfect," Bobbery said honestly. "But let's keep ourselves to the present instead of going off-subject with chit chatter…we need to prepare for the dance now, right?" The two players faced the numerous stacks of glass tiles that the producers had left for them, wondering in what way would the two of them be able to form a practical dance floor from them.

* * *

"Hold it right there, son!" a Pianta police officer shouted at Yoshi. The dinosaur froze, the papers in his hands falling to the dock in a straight pile. On the wall were four advertisements for their party, one in the process of being pasted to the wall.

Yoshi: _I was in the midst of pasting fliers to the building wall and was just about to leave when a police man came up to me…I thought I was going to jail. It was a terrible feeling I never wanted to feel, ever again in my life.  
_

"I'm sorry!" Yoshi pleaded to the police officer, after he was told the rules of the district. "The thing is, we're actually promoting for our party on an island, and we'd like people to come. I wanted to post papers! No harm. Please don't arrest me!" The policeman scratched his distinguishable mustache, overwhelmed by Yoshi's supplication.

"Yeah, but this is illegal, you know?" he said, pointing to the wall. "I need you to take these papers down at once. However, you know that trio of people in the center plaza? What they're doing is acceptable by all terms, so I suggest you follow their pattern if you want to promote this party."

"Yes sir!" Yoshi told him, turning around to take down his arduous work. He used his tongue to remove the flier that was previously in the process of being hung up, but this time, he was removing it. The Pianta stared in wonder.

"Is this…a regular thing for you?" the Pianta asked inquisitively.

"Oh, no," Yoshi said, smiling rather shyly. "I'm actually in the food service industry." The policeman looked at Yoshi, impressed.

"No kidding!" he said, his voice becoming less rough than it usually was. "My sister is one of the fruit sellers down on the East side. She used to work in a Japanese restaurant a while back."

"Oh really?" Yoshi said, picking up his dropped fliers from the floor. "That's pretty awesome! Japanese cuisine is fabulous, cause everything's just visually appealing and delicious. The restaurants have nice atmosphere too."

"Yeah, but now it's all about fruit around here," the police officer said truthfully, looking around. "Say, why don't I give you a helping hand with those papers? After all, it is my job to help the civilians." Yoshi eagerly handed the police officer half of his paper pile.

* * *

"Yes! Thank you!" Wendy shouted, as a Pianta lady tossed a pair of sandals from the second floor of her apartment. Goombella screamed, laughing as she tried to catch one of the falling footgear.

Rosalina: _We actually saw a woman up on her balcony, and we asked if she had anything for our auction, She decided to give us a pair of sandals with very beautiful strap designs. I thought it was perfect. _

"Take good care of them!" she called out to them, as they went on.

* * *

Luvbi gave out her final flier to a passing, unwilling tourist and sighed, then looked over at Diddy's watch.

"It's 11:54," she said out loud, "Which gives us precisely two additional hours until we must go. The boat departs at two in the afternoon, if I remembered accurately."

"I think we're done," Vivian said, looking at the pile in her hands that had dwindled over the past two and a half hours. Only eleven fliers remained.

"Yep, we're done," Diddy said with agreement. "Now before the police come or anything we'd better scoot." As Vivian straightened out her pile, she looked over at Diddy's megaphone and paused with a thought.

"Wait," she said suddenly, "Shouldn't we continue advertising by saying it out loud to everyone? We don't necessarily need fliers to promote the party" Diddy looked at her.

"Well…you're actually right," he said, then coughed. "But my throat is kind of dead from all that talking." He laughed, coughing simultaneously. Vivian grabbed up the megaphone and handed it to Luvbi.

"Here, your English is perfect," Vivian said.

"I'm simply just not going to commence talking," Luvbi said, feeling a sense of awkwardness. "Diddy, if you need a cough drop to continue, then it'll be. Let's search for a pharmacy right now."

"Or," Diddy said, coughing more heavily, "we can check on Yoshi and also help the girls find items for the auction." Vivian looked tentative at his statement.

"But we were assigned roles," she remembered. "Isn't it against the rules to just change them?" Diddy shook his head and laughed, or rather coughed.

"I assigned them, remember?" he reminded her. "Now let's go find objects for our auction!" He took the megaphone from Vivian and stepped in the direction towards the front of the plaza.

"Yes, but first we need to find one of the girls," Luvbi corrected.

Luvbi: _For Diddy to become too tired from his talking, it was something unlikely. I'm not sure what intentions he had, but from what I saw, it ended our effort of spreading the party to more tourists._

* * *

It wasn't long until the talking trio turned the corner and found Yoshi, giving one of his final fliers to a pair of Toads in stylish clothing.

"A wha?" one of the toads asked Yoshi, grabbing the flier and looking over it. Yoshi noticed the three other players in the distance and jumped silently in relief, and as the two Toads left, Yoshi joyfully ran over to them.

"I only have five left!" he told them, as Vivian held up her pile to show that her flier count had diminished as well. "I also gave half of them to a police officer." Diddy looked at Yoshi with incredulity.

"Oh, good idea!" Diddy said sarcastically, "Cause a policeman is really going to help promote our party. For all we know, he may have used those fliers to track down our location and put off our Island Bash."

"Hey, he seemed kinda nice," Yoshi said defensively. "We talked about food! And the food business."

"Uh, speaking on the subject of eating," Luvbi said, looking around, "I wouldn't be surprised if Rosalina and the others had halted to their lunch break already." They all immediately thought of the Durian Café.

"Is there any other restaurant around here than the stinking Durian Café?" Diddy said out loud with annoyance. "We eat there all the time!"

"Well, maybe if you actually looked around, you would have seen the Rotten Fruit Café as a good place to eat," Wendy said sarcastically, appearing behind them.

"That's disgusting!" Diddy said, changing his mind. "I'd rather stick to the Durian Café now."

"I was just joking," said Wendy, "Gosh, learn about humor." Rosalina and Goombella appeared right behind her, both holding an item each for their auction. Wendy held up the dolphin figurine she was holding.

"We found three objects so far for the auction," Rosalina informed them, "but we were actually going to stop for lunch." The four flier-givers checked the achieved objects that would be displayed at their auction, the bottle with the blue coin getting the most peculiar looks.

"How did that even happen?" Yoshi asked in wonder, looking at the glass bottle.

"So, are you guys done handing out fliers or what?" Goombella asked them. "We need to find two more items."

"Well, we ran out of fliers, so I guess we're done with out part," Vivian said, shrugging. "But, that means we could all search for auction items. All seven of us." The others agreed: the more people present while they begged, the more their cause would be magnified.

"But I wanted to eat," Wendy said out loud. "I didn't even eat breakfast! There wasn't even enough time!"

"They'll be food on the island," Yoshi pointed out. "Come on! Seven's a lucky number."

"Okay, how about those who want to eat can grab something to eat and meet us at the boat dock at 1:30," Goombella considered, "and those who want to auction search with me can just go and auction search."

"Or, we can all forget about eating and the seven of us will go auction-object hunting," Diddy concluded, much to the dissent of the females.

"Hey, you were the only one who got to eat breakfast!" Wendy realized. "Not fair!"

Diddy: _All of a sudden it became a battle of the sexes. Yoshi and I just wanted to search regardless, and the girls wanted to split the parts. I mean, we had an hour and a half to go, and spending any time on eating would have been a complete waste. _

Wendy: _Diddy wasn't being rational, because obviously... *rolls eyes* advertising for a party is MUCH more important than eating._

"No, I actually like Goombella's plan," Rosalina spoke up. Diddy gave her a stare of disbelief.

"Yeah, me too," Yoshi admitted, "Now that I think of it, I need to eat." He smiled sheepishly at Diddy.

"Then be it," Diddy said in a fake tone of downheartedness, "I'll have to go search for auction items all by myself."

"Yeah, well, your fault," Wendy said. "Let's go get some smoothies!"

"Wait a second…" Goombella said suddenly, looking towards the direction of their hotel. "McHallyboo said that people had to give us the items."

"We've been doing that," Rosalina told her, confused. "Did we break the rules?"

"No, what I'm saying is that maybe we can get some of our belongings from the hotel and use those in the auction," she continued. "I'm not saying that there's much to give, but for all I know, I think it's allowed." They all turned to her in realization.

"Oh my gosh, you're so right!" Wendy said. "Forget about eating, let's go to the hotel."

* * *

"Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful," Bobbery said, stepping back, his eyes admiring their thirteen-by-thirteen foot creation. With each glass tile laid side by side on the ground, it arranged into the shape of a massive, glass checkerboard: the flooring for their ultimate dance floor. Wario stepped nervously onto the glassy platform.

"It's not going to break," Bobbery ridiculed. "It's close to Plexiglas. Jump on it and it'll be as good as ever."

"Are you kidding me? I'm not scared!" Wario lied to him, laughing. He then jumped into the air and landed his shoes onto the glassy tiles, then opening his eyes, looked at the flooring he was standing on. To his disbelief, it didn't shatter.

"Wait, what if someone's dancing, and then the glass spreads apart?" he said carefully. "Then they'd sue us for sure!"

"Each tile is planted tight into the sand," Bobbery explained, looking at the light projectors he had set up in every corner of the dance floor. Having the appearance of undersized black boxes, the projectors would cast their lights onto the various glass tiles, making them shine a plethora of colors for the partiers to dance on. Seeing that the effect was imperceptible in the sun, the two of them could only hope that the sun went down before 7 P.M, the official end time for their party.

"Cool," Wario said, putting his hand up to the light display and seeing the LED's cast a rainbow of spinning colors on his hand.

"Hmm, time check," Bobbery requested.

"Twelve thirty-four," Wario said, then added, "Just one more hour until the party."

"If you were an optimist, you would have said there were two hours remaining until the party," Bobbery said cleverly. "An extra hour to prepare is an hour gained. In the mind only, of course."

"What? No!" said Wario, his intentions opposite of Bobbery's. "I want it to start already!"

"Oh well, that just makes you irrational," Bobbery told him.

* * *

The players in Delfino Plaza hurried to their hotel. McHallyboo was sitting on the lobby sofa, in the same position as he was when they had first left that morning. The players saw him seated comfortably and reading a tabloid magazine titled, _The Pattern of Death will be Broken._

"Boat leaves in approximately one and a half hours," he said as they passed by. "Though I highly suggest getting there at 1:30. You are the hosts, after all!" He flashed a knowing smile.

"I'm not sure if we're allowed to ask you this question, or whether you're allowed to tell us anything," Goombella started, "but we're allowed to get our own personal objects for the auction, right?" The seven of turned to McHallyboo expectantly.

"As long as what you do falls under the rules, then it's allowed," he said, not bothering to lift his head. Diddy suddenly jumped up.

"Then it's allowed," he said out loud, going towards the stairs. The others followed him unwaveringly.

"You sure?" Rosalina asked him. "I don't want us wasting two items for the auction---"

"Of course it's allowed, because he told us the rules, and I remember them," Diddy said. "Now, before we go---"

"Oh, I really want to give something away," Wendy said suddenly. "It's this really cool set of ear rings that I got a while back, but now I think they're cursed!" The other players turned to her, their faces bewildered.

"Cursed?" Luvbi said with interest. Wendy nodded.

"Okay, like, you obviously haven't heard about it then," she said to them, "or maybe it's not true, but I swear, there's this legend where if you take lava rocks from Hawaii, you're cursed forever. Unless you bring them back or give them away or something."

"And that has to do with your earrings how?" Diddy asked, looking at her.

"Well, duh, the earrings are made out of lava stones from Hawaii," she replied.

"But if you give those earrings to the people who bid the highest for them, wouldn't that send the curse to them?" Yoshi realized. Wendy opened her mouth in the same realization, while the other five sighed in exasperation at their over-influential superstition. They walked down the hall to Room 104.

"Here's my room," Wendy said, taking out her card key and opening the room that three of the female players occupied. The seven of them entered, as Wendy went over to her bag to fetch her jewelry.

"Here they are!" she said, holding them up. The earrings were circular in shape, the rocks displaying a smooth, dark-grey color.

"Okay, we have four objects," Goombella confirmed. Only one more item was left to locate, and as Rosalina turned around to face the clock situated on the corner of the side table, her eyes came across a framed art design sticking out from one of the bags. It was a painting of a fish, drawn in a variety of colors with the use of archival inks. The other players seemed to notice it as well.

"Who drew that?" Rosalina said suddenly, going over to it. "It's so beautiful."

"Oh, uhm," Vivian told her, almost hesitantly, "That's mine." The others turned to her, then gazed back at the drawing.

"I decided to bring it along randomly," Vivian added. "I thought it was, like, relating to the ocean… I mean, you can look at it if you want to." Rosalina picked it up gently, as the others crowded around it with looks of optimism.

"Wow, this would be really great for the auction," Wendy told her. "Let's bring it!"

"You think people would want to buy it?" Vivian said, her voice slightly doubtful.

"it's a fish colored like a rainbow," Yoshi said, looking at it. "Yum! I would."

"I would sooo buy it too," Wendy said with a smile. "Come on! Let's take it with us." Vivian smiled as well, then nodded modestly. As they finally left the hotel with all five objects in hand, there were fifty minutes remaining until their boat was scheduled to leave. In McHallyboo's mind, there were only twenty.

* * *

At the dock, the players were greeted by a line of flier-holding individuals, extending out past the side wall of the Durian Café and creating a barrier that prevented any entrance to the dock of the boathouse. The players reached the dock after lunch and stared with amazement.

"There's like fifty people!" Wendy saw, seeing the row of excited tourists. "You guys did good! Great job!"

"More like sixty," Diddy counted. "If each of them pay five coins, that's three-hundred coins. Then we'd only need to earn four-hundred fifty coins in the auction, and boy, that's a lot."

"But it's only 1:46," Vivian told them. "More people will come. Or at least more should come." As Yoshi tried to shift into the front of the lengthy line, an irritated Goomba willingly knocked into him, pushing him aside.

"No cutting!" the Goomba said irately. "Get to the back!" In possible relation to the Goomba's outbreak, the rest of the line seemed erupt in small ripples, their shouts becoming unbearable and the line becoming more reckless by the second. The players quickly became overpowered by their own crowd.

"Urgh, they're out of control!" Goombella said with frustration. Diddy suddenly lightened up, and looked at the megaphone in his hand. He switched it on and lifted it to his mouth.

"Hey, all of you!" he shouted, as the entire line seemed to hush in place. Everyone turned frantically to see where the projected voice had come from.

"Who's ready for a party?" Diddy said loudly. The sixty soon-to-be- partiers all cheered in unison, as Diddy grinned.

"Great to know! The boat will arrive in approximately fifteen minutes, so for the time being, we have to be quiet," he informed them. "For now, at least."

"Uh, excuse me," a Pianta lady spoke up, "When will be coming back to Isle Delfino? I have dinner reservations."

"The boat makes hourly trips back and forth between three and seven, so feel free to leave whenever," said Diddy, "but you'll still have to pay the five coin admission fee."

"Oh my gosh, I forgot!" a Noki suddenly piped up. "I don't have my money! What'll I do?" Luvbi went over to her and inconspicuously handed the Noki her own five coins.

Luvbi: _Before the problem could escalate, I just handed her my own money. I knew it wasn't against the rules of the game, or my morals._

"Wow, thank you!" the Noki said in appreciation, as Luvbi quickly slipped her way back to the six others.

"Like, is anyone really curious as to how Bobbery and Wario set up the island?" said Wendy. "Hello? If one of them is the Mole, they could just sabotage the island's whole appearance."

"Yes, but the people pay before arriving," Rosalina pointed out. "Though…our fliers do mention a refund system." She looked down at trampled flier that seemed to have embedded itself into the dock.

* * *

As the time approached closer to 2 o'clock, the line was visibly elongated. McHallyboo hurriedly made his way to the area of the dock.

"Nice job," he told them, after walking the length of the line. "Now, who will be driving the boat?" The players turned to McHallyboo, wide-eyed and amused.

"I would crash the boat if I drove it," Wendy said, as the others laughed. Still not taking the host's phrase seriously, the seven of them continued to wait in anticipation.

"Well, I think I did forget to mention that part in the rules," the host finally continued. "Not that it'll bring you any disadvantage in any way, but the drivers arriving here will have to change shifts, and you're the replacements."

"Oh, well, we all know that Diddy is a competitive cart racer," Wendy said nonchalantly.

"Wait, no!" Diddy said immediately. "Racing karts and boats are two different things. Just because they both have driving wheels do not mean they're the same."

"I don't concur," Luvbi said honestly.

"If you want us to die, so be it. I'll steer the boat," Diddy said, folding his arms.

"Well, though I'm just a flight attendant, maybe I could be of assistance," Rosalina offered.

"Nah, I'm fine," Diddy decided. The miniature ferry boat finally came into view, breaking the silence among the crowd that horded the platform of the dock. The players themselves cheered, as McHallyboo quickly set up the ticket stand at the end of the wooden platform. The seven players successfully put the crowded area back into its proper line, and as the boat finally docked, the people began to diminish. One by one, they would hand McHallyboo their five coins, gaining access to step onto the leaving ferry.

"Fifty three, fifty four, fifty five…gah! Too many," Yoshi counted. "I'm getting on!" He happily scooted his way into the moving line and hopped onto the ship, with the host paying no attention to him. Wendy and Goombella followed behind him, doing the same.

"Yeah, party time!" Wendy squealed, giving a high-five to a random Pianta next to her dressed in a tuxedo. Behind Luvbi, a curious pair of toads looked on at the disappearing crowd.

"Come along!" Rosalina called to them. "It's just a fun party." Feeling comfortable enough, they too went up to the ticket stand, then went up the ramp to the boat. McHallyboo followed right behind the pair, the container of collected money in his hands. Luvbi followed quickly behind, and so did Rosalina, who turned backwards to Diddy before entering the ferry. He was standing on the dock, almost as if he was expecting someone.

"Are we going to have an unrestrained boat ride, or will we have a driver?" she joked to him lightly. Diddy snapped his attention back to the leaving vehicle.

"Not without me," he said, grinning. As he got inside, the engine of the boat started, as all ninety-four anxious passengers headed towards the most exotic party they would ever have.

For McHallyboo, it would be all too familiar. For the Mole, it would be their opportunity for fun.

* * *

**The third mission comes closer to a finish. But just how will the Mole decide to sabotage the party?  
**

**I'll be making a picture clue only once for every episode, to keep my profile from overflowing. But watch out for hidden clues throughout, if any! You never know which ones you might pick up on subconsciously. **

**Till next update! Feel free to list any suspects/predictions.  
**


	8. Island of Proportions

* * *

Wow, long hiatus again, ahehe…I haven't forgotten about this story at all, I promise. For the past 3-4 months I've been hosting my third Mole game on Facebook, and finally it's near its completion. But now that it is approaching it ends, I can completely dedicate more time into this.

**In truth I had planned to myself to begin Saboteur's Island a full year after Traitor Aboard ended, but I guess I couldn't help but get a headstart, heh. Anyways, enjoy!**

* * *

Previously on Saboteur's Island:

_"Yeah, party time!" Wendy squealed, giving a high-five to a random Pianta next to her dressed in a tuxedo. Behind Luvbi, a curious pair of toads looked on at the disappearing crowd._

_"Come along!" Rosalina called to them. "It's just a fun party." Feeling comfortable enough, they too went up to the ticket stand, then went up the ramp to the boat. McHallyboo followed right behind the pair, the container of collected money in his hands. Luvbi followed quickly behind, and so did Rosalina, who turned backwards to Diddy before entering the ferry. He was standing on the dock, almost as if he was expecting someone._

_"Are we going to have an unrestrained boat ride, or will we have a driver?" she joked to him lightly. Diddy snapped his attention back to the leaving vehicle._

_"Not without me," he said, grinning. As he got inside, the engine of the boat started, as all ninety-four anxious passengers headed towards the most exotic party they would ever have._

_For McHallyboo, it would be all too familiar. For the Mole, it would be their opportunity for fun._

* * *

_**Episode 2: Part 3**_

"Life vests must go over the shoulders of all passengers, then straps pulled from behind," Rosalina spoke out loud over the ferry intercom, at the same time demonstrating the procedure to the passengers she walked passed.

"And ladies and gentlemen, inflatable life rafts are located in the upper chambers." She turned to one of the overhead compartments, realizing that it would be impossible to grab and inflate one in the scene of an accident.

"Well, I'm glad our airline stewardess took hold of the important stuff," McHallyboo said, wiping his forehead. Vivian was sitting in the chair next to him, feeling more anxious than ever. The host turned to her.

"I…just can't wait," Vivian said honestly, letting out a laugh.

"Parties are nothing but fun," McHallyboo reassured to her, "but if you've been to so many, it becomes a nuisance to your life. Then you start to wish you were someone else instead of a party host." Vivian nodded, still not fully understanding his statement.

"Go right!" Goombella shouted, her voice being heard from the front of the ship. Diddy immediately turned the wheel of the floating vehicle clockwise, then pulled back on the gear. He let go of the wheel and stepped back, enjoying the view.

"I'm the king of the world!" he said out loud, his face grinning an eyes closed.

"Yeah, you have to be on TOP of the ship to say that," Goombella pointed out, over-analyzing the scene from the historical movie. Yoshi entered through the door that separated the passengers from the steering room.

"What do you want?" Diddy said, exasperated.

"I'm kind of hungry," he told him, "And there really isn't anything here except for the food in that drawer. Can I have it?"

"And as captain, I order you to stay back there" Diddy reminded him. "No passengers allowed in the captain quarters! That's an order from me." Yoshi headed back, mumbling.

"Aww, he's just hungry," Goombella said with a smile. "Come to think of it, I think everyone's feeling a little hungry by now. Let's just hope Wario and Bobbery prepared food on the island for us." Diddy nodded, putting his hands back on the steering wheel.

"Yeah, to be honest," Diddy said, looking straight ahead, "I think you're one of the players I could trust as not being the Mole."

"Well, thanks," Goombella replied, "but if I was the Mole then you'd be really playing yourself, right?" Diddy pondered the possibility.

"Argh!" he said out loud, twisting the wheel too heavily to the left. "You can't think anything in this game!"

"Okay, fine," Goombella admitted. ""I can kind of trust you at this point. It's just that if you ended up being the Mole, you've been using a great cover-up, you know, being the leader of the group and all."

"Well, no one else wants to be the leader," Diddy protested, making a face.

Goombella: _I don't think it was exactly a coalition, but Diddy and I entered this area of trust. I kinda wondered though how long it would last, because nothing in this game is predictable._

* * *

Wendy took out the journal from her coat pocket and proceeded to write in it, taking notice of Luvbi in the corner of her eye who was trying to adjust one of the ferry windows.

"Hey, NO peeking!" Wendy decided to say. Luvbi stared at her blankly.

"I was not peeking," she said truthfully, then looking at Wendy's journal asked, "How did you manage to hide such a large object from the rest of us?" Wendy looked up pompously.

"I can do anything I want without anybody knowing it," she explained, "but I'm actually turning this journal of mine into a diary. I'm writing like crazy! Of course, it's all none of your beeswax."

"Any interest in sharing?" Luvbi asked, still not losing her interest.

"No!" Wendy snapped, but then looked at the page she was writing on and slowly nodded her head.

"Okay, some lyrics. I also heard they're going to have a karaoke machine at the island, so I decided to make random songs for the time being. I want someone to read them! But you're the last person in my mind I would imagine reading into my personal diary! I don't want you to start being a nuisance like some judges out there in the real world can be---"

"I won't criticize, don't worry," Luvbi said, grabbing Wendy's journal for herself. She read the first lines of lyrics for the song Wendy had drafted out, looking over it swiftly. She looked pleased.

"Very nice," Luvbi said with a pleased look, giving it back to her.

"Thanks," Wendy said strangely, having expected an opposite response from her.

* * *

"Ladies and gentlemen, the boat will now be arriving on Island Tarasp in just a few short minutes. Please hold still as we open the door to anchor the path." The applause that followed was tremendous but light-hearted, as Rosalina stepped back to make way for the opening door. The island could already be seen in the ocean distance, as McHallyboo stood up to take a closer look of their final destination.

"It's larger than I thought it would be," he commented. Vivian looked out at the island, then at the partiers who were soon to exit onto the terrain. Everyone seemed happy.

"Uh," she started, then looked at the floor, at the auction items settled against the wall of the driver's room. Wendy went to take a look at the island as well, peering her eyes into the distance.

"I love welcoming signs!" she exclaimed, seeing the banner that was placed upon the two poles at the front of the island. "Bobbery and Wario really made the island attractive!" The passengers on board were also trying to get a better look at the mystery destination they were approaching, only to be told by McHallyboo to remain patiently in their seats.

"You made this game much more complex than it should have been," Luvbi realized, looking at McHallyboo. The host pretended to not hear her.

"Okay, we're going to stop at the island in exactly thirty seconds at this rate," Goombella said hurriedly, coming out of the door of the driver's room. "So we have to throw the anchor out soon."

"Yes, that'll be my job," the host replied, lifting the heavy object into the air. "All grab on tight!"

The host threw the metal item out of the unlocked door, as it sank rapidly but evenly to the bottom of the ocean. The standing players held on tightly to anything around them, as Diddy pulled back on the blue lever to the right of the steering wheel, the lever he was instructed not to pull until he knew their boat would be docking. As the island got closer to them, they got closer to the island, and the more their anticipation grew.

The familiar tan color of the island made its view on the side windows, as the boat slowly drifted its way horizontally. All passengers stood still as McHallyboo opened the door even wider. Like a portal to another world, the door now led to an island of unknown proportions, located in the middle of the tropical oceans of Isle Delfino. The people aboard were mystified.

"Well, let's get this island bash started!" Diddy shouted, stepping out of the driver's room. The others couldn't agree more as the boat slowly emptied.

* * *

The sun set sooner than expected. Fortunately, this made the party even livelier as torches were then forced into every corner of the island for a tropical, tiki-like display. Or at least, the party section of the island.

"Your order of tilapia fish, and two passion fruit juices is right here!" Yoshi announced, serving his umpteenth dish of the afternoon. The Pianta lady took it gratefully.

"Wow, that's a steady hand!" she commented. "You must be a waiter."

"Why, yes I am," Yoshi replied.

"You keep that up!" she said back, then dug into her meal.

Rosalina: _It was so much better than an actual celebration. I think this was how all partiers did their fun here on Isle Delfino._

A few partying couples had already settled on the dance floor of the island, as Wario controlled the music, being forced to play one of the most melodramatic songs he had ever encountered in his life.

"This song," Rosalina said, coming up to him. "It's…"

"_Drover's Foe_," Wario said in a disgruntled voice, looking at the disc name.

"So how did it go?" Rosalina questioned him. "That is a big dance floor. It's a wonder how much you did in so little time."

"Well, he forced me!" Wario said, pointing to Bobbery as his explanation. "We did everything. We set up the banner, the tables, the volleyball net, and this dance floor. We get all the credit here."

"Well, not saying that you don't," Rosalina, looking at the scene around her and smiling. "It's so peaceful on an island….even with a party like this."

"HEADS UP!" Wendy yelled, as the volleyball soared towards the dance floor, causing the dancers to back away in panic as the ball hit one of the glass tiles, its force giving it a significant crack. Bobbery from amidst chatting to one of the partiers ran over to inspect the glass, along with Wario and Rosalina, who both looked at it with incredulity.

"Umm yeah, perfect placement," Goombella called out loud with sarcasm, as she stayed still among the volleyball players. A dancing couple behind the place of impact immediately stepped off the dance floor cautiously.

"Oh, my gosh," Wendy said apologetically, running over to the cracked tile as well. It was her who had hit the ball out of aim.

Goombella: _I just thought it was suspicious how closely the volleyball net was to the dance floor and dining tables. That could have easily been either Bobbery or Wario's sabotage, if one of them was the Mole._

"Come on, we were dead tied!" Diddy protested as Bobbery began to take the ball away. The rest of the playing crowd booed in disapproval, as Luvbi walked off the invisible court, amused.

"Well, refunds or not, I think we're set for a win," Luvbi said to Vivian with a hint of sarcasm on her voice. The shadow siren was relaxed on a rock, staying out rather than joining the frenzy.

"Yeah," Vivian said back with a smile, surveying the other players around her. "I'm just worried on who the Mole is though, and whether anyone in this game is worth trusting."

"Well, we've all performed a plethora of suspicious stuff," Luvbi realized truthfully. "It's fair to say that it will be hard to tell. Considering how soon it's been."

"Gah!" Yoshi shouted out loud, his shout freezing everyone in place. The table before him had collapsed, along with four diners with their newly-served dinner, their food and silverware splattered across the sand and into a hapless mess. A majority of the players ran to the scene in shock.

Vivian: _One of the tables collapsed, and we immediately look over because it caught all of us off guard. I was, because I thought Yoshi cut himself with a knife or something._

"Are you okay?!" Wendy said with alarm, helping one of the Nokis up to her feet. Dusting the sand off from her dress, the Noki looked flabbergasted, if not distressed from what had happened. One leg of the table had collapsed out of place, causing the four diners and their meals to slide off from the table.

"We're…all right," another of the diners said, shaking his head. He was obviously distraught, as Wendy and Vivian escorted them to another table hurriedly. Everyone looked at the predicament, still troubled by what had happened.

"What occurred?" Luvbi said, coming over to the scene.

"It just fell!" Yoshi said truthfully. "I put the food down and the whole table collapsed to one side---"

"Cause one of the screws were gone," Diddy realized, pointing at the small misplaced piece of metal that was located below the base of the damaged table. "The Mole slipped under our noses! And we missed it!" He kicked at the sand with frustration, as the other diners near the area felt a wave of worry come over them.

"I'll…go check the other tables, for security," Rosalina said with concern, rushing to the rest of the row of wooden tables. Bobbery peered around.

"Let's discuss this piece of sabotage at another time," Bobbery said with consideration. "We need to clean this mess up as hastily as possible. We don't want any more refunds."

"Well, obviously someone did it," Goombella said, shaking her head and heading back to her own business. "It wasn't an accident."

Goombella: _The only person who had time to do it beforehand were Wario and Bobbery. But that wouldn't help, due to the fact that everyone had been on the island for over an hour, and any one of us could have unscrewed that table._

Yoshi: _That was one of the last tables I served food to, so during all that time, nobody was watching anyone or any of the tables. Anybody could have taken out that screw._

* * *

Like predicted, the diners in the dining mishap had received their respective money refund. The volleyball game continued, along with the lighted dance floor, and as the time approached half an hour to ending time, McHallyboo reminded the players about their final opportunity to earn money for their game. The party value at the moment totaled to 410 coins.

"Okay, so this really depends on our win," Wendy stated, dragging their collected items behind the podium. "Otherwise we just win ten thousand coins."

"But we're so close to the full twenty," Rosalina said, looking hopefully at their soon-to-be-presented items. The other players were setting up the chairs for their final attraction of the night: the auction.

"All right, settle down!" Diddy announced over his megaphone, as all the seats for the auction were taken up. Nearly half of the partiers had turned their full attention to the auction ceremony, with half of those partiers actually eager in purchasing an item that night. McHallyboo stood in the back row, almost tauntingly.

"Hello partiers, and welcome to the auction," Diddy spoke out loud. "We'll have five objects taken from the most exotic locations around the world presented to you tonight, and if you like it, you bid!" Wendy rolled her eyes at his ridiculous lie.

All righties!" Rosalina handed him the first object; the blue coin within the bottle.

"Wasn't that located in that boathouse back at the plaza?" Wario overheard a Pianta mutter. He frowned.

"Five," the first voice shouted.

"Eight," called another from the back.

"Ten!" said another voice. Diddy looked into the set of chairs, expecting more of a higher bid. He frowned, and banged his gravel in accordance to the countdown.

"Ten coins, sold," Diddy announced boringly. There was a light applause as Wendy went over to hand the buyer the object. The next object: Wendy's lava rock earrings.

"Lava earrings, made from rocks from the famed island of Hawaii," Diddy described. "Rumored to be cursed from the goddess Pele in Hawaiin mythology." There were more sounds of interest.

"Ten!" came voice.

"Fifteen," came the second. Goombella, who was standing right besides the first bidder, decided to step up.

"They used to be mine," she said in a half-lie. "I'd appreciate it if you bid a little more. Please?" The lady who was wearing a plaid dress looked at her and nodded.

"I will go for twenty-five," she called out.

"Thirty!" came another voice.

"Thirty five," yelled another.

"Forty!"

"Fifty-five!" Diddy counted three times and the offer was done.

"Fifty-five coins, sold to the lady in the plaid dress!" She winked at Goombella.

"Don't worry, I'm not superstitious or anything," she said, "and they look nice too." Goombella gave her a smile.

The next object were the pair of objects tossed to the auction hunters from the second floor balcony. Diddy held them up.

"Oh shoot, maybe McHallyboo might count those as two objects," Yoshi realized, biting his tongue. Vivian nodded, anxious too but her mind solely focused about her upcoming painting.

"These pair of sandals display beautiful strap designs. They're rumored to have been worn by the queen of Isle Delfino a century back." The crowd became seemingly still, as half of the players present slapped their heads with unbelief.

Bobbery: _It didn't help with the fact that Isle Delfino never had a queen. And most of the people present in the crowd were apparently aware of Diddy's lie, not to mention that they all lived on the darn island._

"This whole auction is a scam," said a man besides Goombella, who she realized to her horror was the husband of the earring-buying lady.

"You idiot!" Wendy hissed, trying to keep her most still face. Rosalina went up to the podium and put herself to the microphone.

"But of course, we all know how false rumors can be," Rosalina said quickly, "because as we all know, Isle Delfino never had a queen at all!" The crowd chuckled, as all eight players felt a small sense of relief. One of them, however, looked at Rosalina's attempt with disappointment.

"Twenty-five," said a voice from the very front.

"Forty-five!" said a Noki from the very front as well. Both bidders faced each other, almost in a glare.

"Fifty," the Noki bid again.

"No bidding twice!" Wario yelled from the back, as a majority of the crowd turned to him. Wario just stood where he was, taken back.

"What? I'm just stating the rules, you amateurs," he said, cowering back. Diddy nodded.

"Well, the bid will stay at forty-five until another wills to overbid," he confirmed.

"Going once? Twice?" He looked at the crowd.

"Sold!" he announced. Wendy brought the buyer their object, as Rosalina brought the new one up. Vivian held her breath.

"This painting of a fish was created by a person named Vivian Shadens," Diddy said, avoiding any more lies. "Bids please."

"Hmm, thirty," a Pianta said. Vivian's eyes widened.

"Forty-five," another called out.

"I will go for fifty-five coins flat!" a lady towards the back declared. Vivian looked even more delighted, smiling as the bids got even higher for her own painting.

"Ninety," called a Noki dressed in proper attire, or at least compared to the others around him. After a third call, the object was sold: the highest value of all auction items. The audience once again did their routine clapping.

"It is a magnificent piece of art, trust me," Wendy said as she handed the framed artwork to the Noki.

"And I must agree fully," he said, examining the picture even closer.

Vivian: _For people to appreciate something that I had created …it made me feel a large sense of accomplishment. And happiness too._

* * *

The total winnings of their mission resulted to six-hundred coins flat. But as McHallyboo quickly halted their auction to an end, the players were baffled and vehement as to why their final object, the dolphin figurine, was left out. The island bash slowly ended as the partiers gave their goodbyes in higher moods, onto a boat, off the island, and back to a more civilized setting. The players stood in a group at the entrance of the island.

"Well, six-hundred coins, so that adds ten-thousand coins to the pot. Not the full twenty, but not bad at all." The players clapped and nodded.

**TEAM POT VALUE**

_**40,000 COINS**_

"However, there were some mishaps and things I must mention that occurred," McHallyboo continued. "Concerning the auction-object hunting, I specifically said that you could not buy any of the objects. The dolphin figuring was bought, so it was void in the auction." McHallyboo held up the figurine.

"What?" Diddy spoke up suddenly, looking at the three auction hunters one by one. "Why'd you do that?" Goombella suddenly perked up in realization.

"Oh, well, it was more of a trade than a purchase," Goombella explained to them. "The boatman we were trading with wouldn't have given it to us anyway if we didn't give money, and we had no other option left."

"You could have let it go and found another object for the auction instead, no?" Bobbery inquired. Goombella shook her head. McHallyboo placed the dolphin figurine into his coat pocket.

Rosalina: _I was there at that time, and it was kind of suspicious how Goombella went ahead to trade money for the figurine, before Wendy or I could object or realize she was breaking the rules._

"Well, we were totally on a tight schedule anyways," Wendy said in her defense.

"Also, before departure, I spotted Luvbi giving a pre-partier money so that she could afford a ticket." All eyes turned to Luvbi, who looked back at the host with a slight frown.

"However, I won't penalize that action because the rules weren't specific," McHallyboo informed them, "but the action on technical terms should have been a breaking of the rules."

"But there was no presence of it in the rules, so I'm cleared," Luvbi confirmed. The host nodded.

"Well, enough is enough," McHallyboo concluded. "You'll be here for the next hour, cleaning up your ignited mess. Close everything up and make sure they are in packable form. Keep all close and protected. The boat will arrive then." Foreshadowing their next mission, McHallyboo left the players by themselves.

* * *

"Aww, gee," Yoshi said, frowning and looking at the collapsed table. Wario was besides him, with the washed (or rather soaked-in-ocean water) cooking grill clutched under his arm.

"Hey, maybe we can find fingerprints of the culprit!" Wario said, feeling more intelligent than ever. "Say, let's try it right now." Yoshi picked up the screw among the mess and stared hopelessly.

"Yeah, but then we'd need a spy kit or something to do that," he pointed out. Wario grabbed the screw from Yoshi and put it into his pocket, hoping to take out his own procedure of finding the Mole.

"I should have realized that one of the tables was slanted," Yoshi told him. "The table just collapsed before I could stop it, and all the food splattered over." He gave Wario a look of distress. Wario felt a wave of rare sympathy come over him.

"Cheer up lil' fella!" Wario said optimistically. "Let's find this Mole together."

"Like a coalition?" Yoshi said, lifting his head.

"Yeah! Why not?"

Wario: _I was trying to see whether Yoshi got a first-hand account to who had messed up that table, because he was the one who was present in the area at all times. If he knows, then I team up with him and he tells me, then we would both be making it to the final episode. Awesome plan!_

Yoshi: _I'm kinda hesitant. Maybe Wario was the one who collapsed the table in the first place and was trying to make me less suspicious of him. But if not, then I guess a coalition would be okay._

* * *

Luvbi and Rosalina were in the midst of stacking the base of the dancing floor, as each glass tile was lifted, wiped, and stacked into tall piles. Rosalina picked up the smashed tile, the one which the volleyball had collided with during the party.

"This caused those dancers to refund, didn't it?" Rosalina said, pushing the glass shards deep into the sand to avoid any harm, or at least for the people in the future who would be using the island for another party.

"I think the cracked tile has more to it than it initially appeared," Luvbi said honestly. "It was which player who had hit the ball out of aim?"

"Wendy," Rosalina said, looking at the player de-setting the volleyball nets and making sure she was out of earshot distance.

Rosalina: _Wendy could be the Mole. Her outrageous behavior in the first episode is what began my suspecting of her. At the same time, Luvbi was still a high candidate of mine for the same reason._

"But then considering how close the volleyball net was to the dance floor, a catastrophe was just dying to happen," Luvbi pointed out. "It points to the two who were present on this island all along."

"So Bobbery and Wario," Rosalina said, considering the possiblities. "Bobbery is just respected in general, which may be a good cover-up."

"He does indeed strike me as a possible choice," Luvbi said with consideration. "Wario is shifty."

"Wario is just always fishy," Rosalina continued. "Or I would say, just rather dumb with his actions." The two of them laughed lightly.

* * *

"Ugh, the net is tangled again," Wendy groaned, expecting Bobbery to come over to help her. He was too busy with the other side of the net, as she groaned again.

Bobbery: _I think Wendy is smarter than she's letting through. Otherwise, she would have been sent home in Round 1. This raises possibility of her being the Mole._

"So me being on this island the entire time puts me at a great disadvantage," Bobbery spoke up. "Unless, you inform me about everything back at the plaza." Wendy gave up and let the entire pole fall to its side.

"Well, I was just auction hunting," Wendy clarified, "and got no more of an advantage than you did." She pulled at the net, ripping off the bottom strip from the rest of the criss-cross design.

"Because spending all day on an island is very advantageous," Bobbery grumbled. "At least inform me: Who was acting suspicious?"

"Oh, hah!" Wendy said almost triumphantly. "If I don't tell you, you'll be executed before me!"

"Yes," Bobbery said, his mind thinking quickly, "but if I was the Mole, this wouldn't matter to me at all, would it?" Wendy darted her eyes left and right, spotting Goombella a distance away before speaking.

"I just thought it was really fishy how she just, you know, bought the dolphin figurine before we could utter a word," Wendy whispered. "And she made it look as if she were the hero. That definitely sticks in my mind as perfect sabotage." Bobbery nodded.

"Anything else that's stuck in your mind from this morning concerning the others?" Wendy paused, and then suddenly lightened up.

"Vivian didn't want to be alone with the flier giving," Wendy remembered. "The way she was so insistent of hanging out with the others made me think about her."

"That did seem odd," Bobbery commented, and then put his journal away.

"Well, it never hurts to share some information with a fellow player."

"Or a fellow Mole," Wendy replied, considering all possibilities.

* * *

The moon hovered over the island in a surreal manner, as the players were given the spare flashlights for their next game. McHallyboo stood at the base of the poles, those which held up the welcoming banner of their now-extinct party.

"Well, the Island Bash is over, and now our second game begins," McHallyboo informed them. "This game will be called Island Lockdown." He pointed out into the vast area of jungle that littered two-thirds of the island's entirety.

"On the other side of this island is your boat to get off from this island," he explained, "which will be leaving in exactly fifteen minutes from this very second."

Vivian: _I could only fear for what the next mission would be, because even the title of the game seemed frightening enough._

"You'll be in groups of three," the host continued. "You must traverse your way through the island flora and make it to the boat in time. If you do not reach the boat in time, then you will remain on this island overnight." The players exchanged glances of disbelief and amusement.

Goombella: _If anything, I am totally getting off this island for my well being. You have no ideas what animals lurk on islands at night._

"Through the jungle there are little detectors," McHallyboo went on, "which if they detect anyone in a ten feet diameter, would begin to flash brightly. Each team will be holding a device connected to these little detectors so that if your device turns red, you must sit down and wait three minutes until the device is no longer red, then you could get a move on." He held up the object for them to see.

"Now, please split into three groups of three. The first group will be named Auction Delfino, the second Volley-All, and the third, Sabotage."

"And to ease complication let's split the teams as we are," Diddy said before anyone else could say anything, looking at the line they were standing in. "First from the left is Group 1, middle is Group 2, and third is Group 3." Wendy frowned.

"Stop being the boss of everything!" she said with exasperation.

"Well, what else are you going to propose?" Diddy inquired. Wendy looked at the others, and then shook her head with displeasure. The teams were settled.

"Group Auction Delfino," McHallyboo declared, pointing to the first three individuals in the row, "will be Wario, Goombella, and Vivian." The three of them, Wario included, seemed please.

"Group Volley-All," said McHallyboo, "is Diddy, Rosalina, and Yoshi." Diddy nodded heavily in satisfaction.

"And Group Sabotage is Luvbi, Wendy, and Bobbery," said McHallyboo, counting the last three players. While Bobbery seemed to not mind, the other two gave each other stares of resentment.

"Well, I didn't exactly offer the team's formation," Luvbi spoke up, tossing her head.

"I trust you're all wondering about the significance of your group names," said the host. "They signify the object you must bring along with you onto the boat. You don't have the object or objects, then you won't have access to get onto the boat. Consider it as your group's ticket." He handed each team a map, displaying a coordinate grid of the entire island. Little red dots were scattered among the front in representation of the deadly detectors.

"For each group that boards the boat, 5,000 coins will be added to the pot," the host said. "Good luck. Time has already started." Once McHallyboo had delivered that line, the groups seemed to dart aimlessly in panic.

"Wait, we have to relax!" Vivian shouted out loud, attempting to maintain the group. Everyone seemed to freeze at the quiet player's outburst.

"We need to get our tickets first, right?" she told them all. "So we need to know what we need to bring onto the boat before anything."

"Well, ours is obviously the volleyball net," Rosalina said, turning to the heap on the floor.

"The auction dolphin," Goombella said in realization, looking around the island and at the leftover mess of their party. She then turned to McHallyboo and requested for the object hidden in his coat pocket: the dolphin figurine.

"Okay, we're ready, let's go!" Goombella told her teammates, as the first group went into the depths of the island plants. McHallyboo waved after them.

"So wait, what does Group Sabotage mean anyway?" Wendy said with perplexity. "Sabotage isn't something you can hold."

"Perhaps we must…commit an act of sabotage," Luvbi said, looking at the other two in her team.

"Oh, you wish," Diddy said, shaking his head.

"Or maybe it could be an item or object of sabotage, something that the Mole caused that sabotaged a previous mission," Bobbery considered. "The screw from the collapsed table." Yoshi immediately began searching his pockets for the screw that they had taken from the table scene. He jumped up in realization.

"Wario has it!" Yoshi yelled, running towards the jungle green of the island and projecting his voice towards it. "Come back, we need you!" His voice only echoed, and after a moment of silence, Yoshi sighed and gave up. But a few seconds later the group of three emerged back from out of the jungle.

"Say, I heard my name," Wario said with annoyance, as all nine were once again together.

"The screw," Yoshi told him, "Do you have it?" Wario searched his pocket and pulled out the tiny fragment of metal. Bobbery took it and turned to the other two.

"Are you certain this is it?" Luvbi said with a hint of uncertainty.

"It can't be anything else," Bobbery said with confidence, "And time has ticked enough. Let's go." The two of them followed the admiral into the greens of the jungle, and then shortly after, Wario's group headed in as well. The three remaining players of Group Volley-All looked at the heavy stack of volleyball equipment that was left on the sand, tangled and in a mess from the aftermath of the party.

Rosalina: _Maybe if we had organized the teams a little more, players such as Wario and Bobbery wouldn't have ended up carrying little figurines and screws, and people like Yoshi and I wouldn't have been left to carry an entire volleyball net on our backs. Not to mention the poles as well. _

"Well, maybe Wendy should have proposed another plan for splitting the teams after all," Diddy said, scratching his head and grinning awkwardly. The other two were not amused.

* * *

**The next chapter brings the end of Episode 2 (which would be coming very soon actually, heh). H****ere's your second **_**Final Destination **_**clue:**

Flower-A-Slant-A

**Due to any possible future inconsistency, if you would like I would suggest Alerting to this story for the future being. But thanks to all and stay tuned! The Mole is soon to take another.**

* * *


	9. Another Embarks

_**Episode 2: Part 4**_

Vivian grabbed onto Goombella harder as their flashlight flickered, off, then back on momentarily. It was their only source of available light as they traversed across the entire length of the island. With their required object in hand, all they needed to do was reach the boat at the opposite side of the island before it left without them, all while avoiding the detectors which would delay their travel.

"Don't die on us!" Wario grunted, shaking the flashlight and activating its light back to full potential. He shone it on their map, carefully looking at the red dots placed accordingly upon it.

"Look closely," Gombella realized, pointing at the two lines of red dots "The detectors are in the form of a path. As long as we follow it and keep away from both sides, we'll be fine all the way through."

"So how about I navigate while you lead?" Wario offered. Goombella nodded in agreement as three of them went on to their final destination. Vivian, holding the detector advice in her hands that would flash in the presence of an activated detector, noticed the digital screen that protruded from its bottom. It was their timer.

"Guys, we only have nine minutes left," she said with panic.

"Don't worry, we're already halfway through the island," reassured Goombella, stepping inadvertently into the view of one of the detectors. Wario looked down at the map in a hurry.

"Wait!" Vivian shouted, noticing the device in her hand flash red. The lights around them began to flash too, and the sirens went off.

* * *

Wendy: _When someone knows you're afraid of something, they can't help but play on it. Which REALLY makes me mad._

"I'm not afraid of the dark!" Wendy said, as Luvbi only laughed in reply.

"Well, denying is the best method of excuse," Luvbi said, walking on. Wendy just scowled at her.

"It gives me so much relief to know where we're going," Bobbery said thankfully, turning their map in all directions, "but it's countered with the fact that these detectors are scattered aimlessly."

"They seem to form a path though," Luvbi said, but was interrupted by a sound behind them them. The three of them jumped as a siren was let loose, and in the pitch dark behind them they saw the rhythmic flashes of red lights, activated by the team behind them.

"Darn, they triggered a detector!" Bobbery hissed. Luvbi stepped towards the source of light, mistakenly into the diameter of another detector nearby. The red lights flashed.

"No!" Wendy shouted, covering her ears from the erupting sirens. As both teams fell to a halt, the clock clicked closer to the boat's departure.

* * *

Diddy stood helplessly over the heap of volleyball equipment, picking up the net and attempting to shred and collect them into little pieces. Rosalina just sighed and kneeled down in thought, looking at the party's aftermath.

"Well, at least we made money in the previous mission," she told them, "But I don't like the idea of having to spend a night on this island."

"We should have had Wario or Bobbery doing this instead, you know," Yoshi said, shrugging. "Cause they're strong and would actually be able to lift these poles-"

"I'm not psychic," Diddy retorted.

"Maybe one of us knew beforehand which group stood for which objective," Rosalina said slowly, in reference to the monkey who was tearing the net apart.

"Okay, look," Diddy said with exasperation, "the only reason I proposed such a quick plan was because McHallyboo said time had already started. So I chose the quickest way to sort out the teams in order to save time. Got it?" Rosalina just looked at him, maintaining her frustration.

"Fine, but I still think something could have been done," she stated, turning around to collect firewood. Diddy threw a hand behind him in ignorance, as Rosalina tossed her head.

"So umm, how are we going to carry all of this across the island?" Yoshi pondered, looking at the two poles on the sand. Diddy laughed.

"Can you even lift one of them?" Diddy asked. Yoshi went up to one of the poles, attempting for ten seconds before falling to the sand in an exhausted heap.

Diddy: _Yeah, maybe if we were able to carry them, or at least drag the poles through the forest we could have tried and made it to the boat in time. But we were weak and hopeless._

"Yep, we're dead."

* * *

_If the players had taken their three-minute pause time to its potential, they would have noticed that whenever a detector had been activated and was flashing, the other detectors located within the island forest emitted small red lights as well. Seeing this, the path of safety could be made out to them._

"The detectors are all lit," Wendy realized in a gasp. "Look!" She pointed towards the remainder of their travel, through the forest that was now lit by the minute lights of the other detectors.

"We have to memorize this," Luvbi said carefully, her mind attempting to take a photograph of the scene. Once the device in Wendy's hand flashed off, signifying their three minutes were over, Luvbi stood up and slowly took her steps in the dark, the flashlight providing light for her footing. The sirens had all stopped.

"Miss, it's much safer to use a map," Bobbery began, but the two girls simply ventured on, certain of their path to protection.

* * *

"Okay, we can move again," Vivian whispered, seeing that her detector was already off. Wario turned to her in bewilderment.

"Wait, wasn't that red light off like thirty seconds ago?" he asked her, furrowing his eyebrows at it. Vivian also looked at the device with confusion and nodded.

"I guess it was," she said, walking on. "I wasn't really paying attention."

Wario: _Vivian didn't even tell us when we were allowed to move again. It wasted us a good full minute with what she did._

Vivian: _I didn't even exactly know the significance of the flashing device I was holding, so that was a bit unclear for me even in the first place._

The trio walked farther down the path, in a faster pace than before but still steady. Approaching the other group ahead of them, Goombella called out their name in hopes of a reply.

"Hey, we're here!" came out the voice of Wendy, still a distance ahead of their position. "We see the end of the island!"

"We're coming!" Goombella shouted back, but Wario grabbed her, in fear of activating another hidden detector.

"The map says to right turn, then forwards to avoid the detectors," he told them, keeping his finger on their spot on the island diagram. Both females followed their instructed steps from the navigator and turned right, then proceeded forwards. The sirens erupted.

* * *

"Oh tarter sauce, again!" Bobbery said with disbelief, seeing the lights flash from behind him for the second time.

"We gotta help them!" Wendy said with alarm, only for Bobbery to shake his head firmly.

"No, we must go on," he ordered. "In situations where a friend has fallen, it's only wise to save yourself before both meet doom."

Wendy: _Geez, what good morals for a sea captain. Tell me about dignity._

"Well, I must agree," Luvbi said selfishly. "It's better to win 5,000 than none at all." The group continued on, using Luvbi's memory and the map in their possession to make a permanent mark of their path, one which was nearing its end at that moment. With five minutes to spare, they stepped out of the trees and into the open area of the island, relief and victory spreading over them.

"Oh yes, the boat!" Wendy squealed, running up the boat docked on the edge of the sand. It was a ferry, smaller than the one they had maneuvered on to get onto the island, as Wendy held up the table screw for the boatman to see. He nodded in approval.

"Welcome aboard," he greeted. "Group Sabotage…ironically."

* * *

Goombella: _What went wrong? Wario held the map up upside-down_ _and led us directly into a motion detector._

The group of them of them sat on the forest island ground, Vivian standing to avoid having to sit on the muddy terrain. They ignored the second round of sirens which seemingly engulfed their entire section of the island.

"How could I see in this dark that the map was upside-down?" Wario said in defense.

"You could have at least realized that the title of the map was reversed," Vivian pointed out. She looked in worry at their remaining time: 4 minutes.

"Well, we'll only have two left once all of this is gone," Goombella calculated. But she then stopped, seeing the radius of the flashing lights. The flashing was magnified much greater opposed to before, so much that it nearly revealed the rest of their way out of the forest towards the island shore, where their boat would be waiting. Their path remaining was almost void of any detectors.

"The lights get stronger every time," Goombella realized, seeing the good side to their delays. Vivian and Wario looked in realization as well, and as the flashing all disappeared, the group of them was almost disappointed as they were once again left in darkness. But now having an even clearer insight of their path to victory, they continued, non-stop at their fastest pace and avoiding all detectors, out and towards the open.

* * *

As soon as they sensed the feeling of clear air, they emerged. Wario stumbled out of the jungle green and collapsed onto the sand, muttering "We made it!" as he fell forwards, much to the alarm of the group aboard the boat.

"Come on guys, you only have two minutes left!" Wendy shouted, waving her arms. Goombella and Vivian each grabbed an arm of the exhausted muscleman unwillingly and pulled him up, as they trudged tranquilly to the soon-to-leave boat. The second group had reached their desired destination.

"Oh, umm," Goombella said, giving the dolphin figurine to the boatman. He smiled and let them on board, as all six players smiled as well, knowing that the team pot was boosted yet another significant amount, and that neither of them would have to spend a grueling night left by themself on the island. Wario looked around.

"Wait, aren't we missing-"

"Yes, it's quite obvious," Luvbi stated. Two minutes later, the boat departed, leaving all individuals who were still upon the island alone.

* * *

"Thanks Yoshi," Rosalina said gratefully, grabbing the fruit as Yoshi handed her a coconut. Examining another one closely, he dug into one himself. Diddy sat huddled by the fire that Rosalina managed to start, trying to mind his own business as he blocked out all other objects around him, including the other two and the tropical setting surrounding them all.

"I won't blame you any further," Rosalina said apologetically to Diddy.

"You have enough already," Diddy replied back heatedly, pulling his hands away from the fire, then closer, then farther.

"Well," Rosalina replied, hitting her coconut against the sand in an attempt to open it and quench her thirst, "I won't anymore for as long as we're here. Don't be offended if I call you the Mole."

"And I'm not psychic either," Diddy added. Rosalina rolled her eyes.

Rosalina: _It was just useless being aggressive to each other, because we were all stuck and fated to the same situation anyway. We were all going to be left on the island overnight, so might as well make the best of it._

"Say, about our beds," Yoshi piped up, attempting to break the livid mood, "where can I sleep?"

"You're asking us?" Diddy said with incomprehension. "Gee, go anywhere I guess."

"Err, all right," Yoshi replied, looking nervously into the black depths of the unknown island forest. He looked out to the sea.

"You just can't leave the island or anything and break the rules, then we'd all blame you," Diddy added. "But who cares. We lost money anyways."

Yoshi spent the next thirty minutes retrieving piles of leaves and moist branches from the depths of the island, laying them out on the sand and providing a bed of minimal comfort. The other two followed the same exact action soon after, and within an hour, all stranded players had drifted off to sleep, sleeping as if they were all settled snug in their hotel beds instead of piles of vegetation upon an island. The fire crackled in the night air and went out

* * *

Morning approached back at Delfino Plaza, as the six hotel-relaxed players met for a tranquil breakfast at the lobby. Their minds were concerned on solely one thing: the alive statuses of the three individuals who had been abandoned on the tropical island the night before. McHallyboo, like always, seemed the least concerned at the table.

Wario: _Whadd'ya know? Just yesterday, Bobbery and I were the ones stuck on the island in the morning. Now this time it was the other guys. Everything gets fair and square in the end._

"Oh goodness, a rest in a bed was such a relief," Luvbi told the others, using her own sense of humor to remind everyone else of a certain absence.

"Hey, missed us?" came the surprising voice of Diddy, yet more drained than usual. The seated players looked behind them, elated to see the arrived players from the morning ferry ride, if not slightly guilty about their delayed appearance.

"Oh dear," Luvbi gasped, covering her mouth as she saw Rosalina's hair.

Luvbi:_ It was absolutely horrid, and looked as if it were dipped in sewer water and mangled with leaves, all the while someone willingly jabbed twigs into her hair one by one…it was ghastly._

"This is how a pampered person appears when they finally sleep humbly," Rosalina informed them, as they all laughed. All nine players seated themselves comfortably.

"Let me go over the results of last night's mission, Island Lockdown," McHallyboo spoke up.

"We selfishly abandoned Diddy, Rosalina, and Yoshi and only cared about purselves," Wendy concluded playfully, "That's all, right?"

"Yes, but besides that," the host continued, "two groups were able to make their way on board the boat before it left, so that adds ten thousand coins to your pot. Well done folks!"

**Team Pot**

_50,000 coins_

"Gee," Yoshi noticed, "right on the money mark."

"The detectors actually helped you in their activated mode," McHallyboo explained to them, holding up the detector device brought in by Group Volley-All. "Though they gave you three-minute penalties, you could have taken advantage of your time and outlined the rest of your safe path through the forest once all the lights were on. Thought in the mean time it's better to not have activated one at all. I was informed that both teams encountered this problem and encountered at least one detector each. Group Auction especially."

"I activated a detector the first time, and then Wario lead us directly into another," Goombella explained, shaking her head and smiling.

"But never the less, you both made it, so there was no harm in that, right?" McHallyboo reassured, but then added, "Or did the Mole push up into their maximum effort of sabotage last night?" The eating players looked up at each other. One of them was the saboteur, hiding from the others their true identity that very second as a double agent. The mystery still continued, as McHallyboo laughed.

Goombella: _The host himself doesn't even know who the Mole is, so the Mole's identity is just completely undercover and concealed, from everybody. We were just all dying to know already._

"Well, of course they sabotaged!" Wendy exclaimed, referring to the Island Bash the night before, along with its countless suspicious events that had taken place within it.

"Tonight is your second execution," the host informed them, standing up from the table. "Until then, the rest of your day is off for relaxation. But I would suggest recollecting your info from this entire episode." He turned around to leave, but then added one more line.

"You all survived the first one, but this time around, one of you will not be as lucky again."

* * *

Diddy and Goombella sat underneath a parasol, the same exact one that Goombella had been brutally tied to during the mission from their first episode. Wendy and Rosalina were in their presence, or at least located underneath the adjacent parasols and getting absorbed into their conversation.

"So let's speak out our suspects, right this second," Rosalina suggested. "Once we all name who we think the Mole is, we'll all be neutral."

"Before that," Diddy said almost immediately, "we have to make sure that we all trust each other as not being the Mole."

Goombella: _What was this, a four-way coalition? If he really isn't the Mole, he's just doing a bad strategy in my mind. If Diddy is the Mole, then he's just sucking us all in as preys._

"I'm still unsure," Wendy said hesitantly. "I've had my eyes on you, Diddy, even before this entire episode."

"What, really?" Diddy spoke up, amused.

"Just to clarify, you aren't exactly innocent appearing," Rosalina said in support of Wendy.

Diddy: _I found it hilarious how Wendy and Rosalina were just completely confessing their suspicions for me. Either they were playing with my mind, or they truly do suspect me as the Mole._

"Fine, go ahead with that," Diddy said, looking at Goombella. Feeling overpowered from the gender difference, he got up from the sand and left the shore.

"Or you can be it," Goombella said, looking straight at Rosalina. Rosalina smiled but shook her head.

"But I wasn't the person who bought an auction item and blatantly broke the rules," she replied, as Wendy laughed, having been present at the scene as well.

"Well, whatever," Goombella said, "I honestly suspected Boo to be the Mole. But he's gone, which proves how good my Mole-hunting skills are apparently."

"Me too!" Wendy blurted out loud, and then looked around. Calming her voice before talking, she continued, "Okay, when Boo left, I was just flabbergasted and dying to know who it was already. I was certain he was the Mole."

"I was just sure he was going to make it to the final episode or something, at the least," Rosalina said with bewilderment. "He knew everything about the game, watched the initial season and knew all the rules, but still managed to get executed first." The others nodded in mystified agreement. Every game had its twist, no matter how illogical.

* * *

"Okay Yoshi," Wario said, bringing him into the cornered end of the Delfino Police gate, much to the dinosaur's uneasiness. "Any memory of someone who was wandering around the food tables before the table fell?" Yoshi looked at the sky, his memory trying its best to recollect.

"I dunno, maybe if I had photographic memory?" he replied, thinking hard. "Someone for sure unscrewed the table. The table couldn't unscrew itself."

"Yep, yep," Wario said, expecting Yoshi to say more. Yoshi just remained motionless.

"Aww man, it's useless!" Yoshi said hopelessly, walking forwards as Wario jogged after him. "I should have paid more attention! Gah!" He made an exaggerated stumble and headed towards the melon stand. Wario laughed.

Wario: _I think Yoshi had more to him that meets the naked eye. He probably knows who made the table fall and knows who the Mole is at this point. I just need information from him._

Yoshi: _Gee, I wish I did know who made the table collapse. I'd also kinda like Wario to know too so that'd he'd stop stalking me, err, obsessively following me with curiosity._

* * *

Discovering their joint likings for durian juice, both Luvbi and Vivian decided to settle down away from tropical sunlight and into the shades of the game's target eating place.

"Something amusing?" Luvbi asked, seeing Vivian giggle. Vivian sipped and shook her head, but then pointed up above them.

"I just remembered Boo's reaction when you chose Journal 3," she told her, "and how flabbergasted he was when that was revealed as the special one." Luvbi laughed as well.

"Well, I think everyone was quite stunned," Luvbi told her, "Even I was."

"Yeah, I was too," Vivian admitted. "But just on my own I'd never be confident enough to base a number choice on, well, how many durians there were hanging from the ceiling." The two of them laughed again as the waiter began to set up a table on the other side of the room, the one to be for the dinner before their taking of the final quiz.

"I'm just hoping I won't be executed tonight," Vivian said worriedly. Luvbi shook her head.

"Try being optimistic," she replied. "It's simple really." Vivian nodded, trying the method to her fullest.

* * *

Dinner went accordingly in schedule with the game's plan. For the players though, or at least a selective few of them, a surprise was in store that would change the remainder of their comfort level for the rest for their game. Halfway into their meal a Pianta from their hotel rolled into the café with a cart in his possession, and piled upon it, three bags that gave three present players a jolt of surprise and relief.

"Oh no those aren't!" Diddy exclaimed, jumping up and picking up the top bag. The rest of the players laughed too as they saw the names imprinted on each of the arrived duffel bags: _Goombella, Yoshi, _and _Diddy_.

"Wow, you guys are sadistic," Goombella said teasingly, yet jokingly as she grabbed her bag back into possession.

"But how'd you get them back from the bottom of the ocean?" Yoshi asked, still in awe.

McHallyboo sipped his glass of durian juice and shrugged.

"Now that question is as mysterious as the Mole, isn't it?" he told them. Though put into higher spirits, the players couldn't help but be reminded of the upcoming quiz from the host's witty statement.

Before they knew it, dinner finished, and it was already time.

* * *

_The revealing of the salvaged bags only served as a brief relief to the players, as they all got ready one by one for the second end of their game: the ten-question quiz about the Mole. Their suspicions for that night would determine their temporary survival, and which player would be going home that very night. Whichever player scored the lowest on the quiz would be executed._

Diddy sat down first. Positioning himself at the dinner table shrewdly, he rigged it so that it was likely for McHallyboo to send him to take the quiz before the others. This way, his mind was clear.

_**Question 1: Is the Mole male or female?**_

_**-Male**_

_**-Female**_

Diddy: _It can be anybody, but I've focused recently on Rosalina. I can't believe for a second that she actually suspects me._

_Flashback __**Rosalina:**__ "Say, why don't we stop by that boat house souvenir shop and search for an object there?" (The players run towards the dock)_

Diddy: _During the auction object searching, from what I heard, Rosalina lead them completely into a boathouse after claiming to them at first that it was a souvenir shop. That was tricky._

_**Question 2: When did the Mole arrive down the hotel stairs on the morning after the first execution?**_

**-First**

**-Second**

**-Third**

**-Fourth**

**-Fifth**

**-Sixth**

(_flashback of Bobbery and Wario coming down first, then Diddy, then Rosalina and Luvbi together)_

Luvbi: _It could be Yoshi as the Mole. He's trying and all, but he could have done a much better job handing out fliers than he did during our initial game._

_**3. What was the Mole's job during the preparation of the Island Bash?**_

_**-Searching for auction items**_

_**-Handing out fliers**_

_**-Preparing the island**_

_Flashback __**Vivian**__: "I don't feel confident giving out fliers alone. Can I stay with you guys instead?"_

Bobbery: _Vivian is a person not many people would suspect as the Mole. She refused to be by herself handing out fliers, which could have helped the team in advertising to more people in the plaza. She's done little things like that to slow us down._

_**4. While the partiers were travelling to their island destination, where was the Mole?**_

_**-On the island**_

_**-In the driver's room**_

_**-Among the partiers**_

Goombella: _I'm still keeping my suspicions on Bobbery and Wario. Being on the island the whole time, they could have either performed the inappropriate placing of the dance floor and volleyball game, or did the mysterious table unscrewing with no one around to see._

_**5. Which of these specific jobs did the Mole have during the Island Bash?**_

_**-Dance Floor DJ**_

_**-Waiter**_

_**-Auctioneer**_

_**-None**_

Wendy: _Diddy has been the leader of all of us. He thinks he's the leader and does it so well that he makes us forget he could be the Mole. Just personally, his ridiculous lie during the auction makes him more of a suspect to me than an enemy._

_Flashback __**Diddy**__: "These pair of sandals display beautiful strap designs. They're rumored to have been worn by the queen of Isle Delfino a century back."(The bidders become silent and hesitant)_

_**6. What group was the Mole in during Island Lockdown?**_

_**-Group Auction Delfino**_

_**-Group Volley-All**_

_**-Group Sabotage**_

Rosalina: _Luvbi has been suspicious from the first episode. She gave money to one of the partiers, which I think was her attempt to break the rules. And during our second game, Wendy claimed that she had activated one of the detectors while they tried to reach the end._

_(flashback of Luvbi stepping forwards towards the other team, setting off a detector nearby)_

_**7. Did the Mole make it aboard the boat before it departed?**_

_**-Yes**_

_**-No**_

Vivian: _Wario said that he turned the map upside-down, and he was also the one who volunteered to navigate our way through the island. But then he led us directly into one of the detectors, which made me a little suspicious._

**8. **_**The Mole's occupation is which of the following?**_

_**-Admiral**_

_**-Moneylender**_

_**-Flight Attendant**_

_**-Fruiterer**_

_**-Singer**_

_**-Archeologist**_

_**-Display Artist**_

_**-Kart Racer**_

_**-Musician**_

_Flashback __**Goombella**__: (pulling out red coins for the boatman) "I brought some money just in case."_

Yoshi: _Goombella just so happened to have money in her pocket when the boatman asked for cash. The whole scene just seemed planned out._

_**9. The Mole is which of the following?**_

_**-A human**_

_**-An animal species**_

_**-Other**_

Wario: _I'm voting for everyone on this quiz to stay safe…probably more towards Rosalina and Wendy, who were both talking heavily today on the beach shore. Maybe they're beginning a coalition._ _A Mole coalition._

_**10. Who is the Mole?**_

_**-Yoshi**_

_**-Wendy**_

_**-Wario**_

_**-Vivian**_

_**-Rosalina**_

_**-Luvbi**_

_**-Goombella**_

_**-Diddy**_

_**-Bobbery**_

**

* * *

**

The location of the execution varied in tradition, so for the second festivity, the TV was pulled from the lobby of the hotel and situated on the top of the boatman's table counter.

All nine players entered in a single-file line into the building of the boathouse, finding a majority of the furniture removed and instead nine chairs placed appropriately within the room, giving each player their own comfort space. McHallyboo, wearing a boater's hat and apparently mockingly taking the place of the house's owner, stood before them as they all sat down.

"Welcome to your second execution," he announced, putting his hand upon the television besides him. "You've all taken your second quiz on the identity of the Mole, asking about him or her. If I enter your name into the computer and the screen turns green, you had scored high enough on your quiz, and you remain in the game." He took his hand of the television monitor, settling it more on the counter itself.

"However, if the screen turns red, you are the Mole's second victim," he explained. "You must retrieve your bag from outside and leave the game immediately." All players vaguely recalled passing their own bag on their way into the building. In soon time, one of them would be exiting out, bag in hand. McHallyboo sat down on the counter table and put his fingers upon the keyboard.

"Let's begin the execution," he announced, and then asked, "Would anyone like to go first?" Immediately, nearly of the male players' hands shot into the air. Goombella was the only female, as McHallyboo pointed towards her.

"Goombella," he said out loud, as the first name slowly made its way onto the screen. Goombella stared heavily at the television monitor, waiting her fate and immediate result.

**G-O-O-M-B-E-L-L-A**

**...**

**...**

**...**

**...**

**GREEN**

Goombella gave a smile of relief, her smile remaining as she looked down to the ground.

"Diddy," McHallyboo called next. Keeping his confident look from the first execution, Diddy watched with a tint of apprehension as his name was typed into the screen.

**D-I-D-D-Y**

******...**

**...**

**...**

**...**

**GREEN**

He grinned, facing the others. Wendy looked in disgust then faced forwards into proper position.

"Wario," the host said. The obese man felt a bead of sweat as his name was typed into the computer, letter by letter, one by one.

**W-A-R-I-O**

******...**

**...**

**...**

**...**

**GREEN**

He raised his fists up in a mix of victory and relief.

"Bobbery," called the host. Bobbery faced forwards, his eyebrows furrowed as his name too was slowly typed into the television before them all.

**B-O-B-B-E-R-Y**

******...**

**...**

**...**

**...**

**GREEN**

He nodded, fully pleased and contemplating to himself. McHallyboo pointed to the last male in line.

"Yoshi," the host called. The dinosaur looked up and eyed the screen, seeing his name slowly appear on the face of the television. As he gulped, McHallyboo pressed the 'Enter' button.

**Y-O-S-H-I**

******...**

**...**

**...**

**...**

**GREEN**

He sighed and rested his head back. Wario looked up in realization.

"All males safe," Wario mumbled, counting each called name. "It's a female this time." Four more players remained to be called.

"Rosalina," McHallyboo called, his attention going towards the other end of the room. Rosalina sat straight in her chair, looking anxiously at the screen as her name was typed in letter by letter.

**R-O-S-A-L-I-N-A**

******...**

**...**

**...**

**...**

**RED**

As the screen turned the flash of red, Rosalina sighed heavily.

"I'm sorry, you've been executed," McHallyboo stated, standing up from the counter seat, "Please follow me." The other players felt a wave of remorse go over them as Rosalina quickly stood up, and then followed the host's way out of the boathouse, to the row of waiting bags.

"Oh darn," Diddy said out loud, turning inadvertently to Wendy. They both faced each other with a mutual look of disbelief.

* * *

"Rosalina, I am sorry that you must leave," McHallyboo said, as he took the bag from her, "and I am more sorry to say that you were indeed the Mole's second victim." She sighed again, but this time in a more light-hearted manner.

"Yeah, it's quite a disappointment," she said truthfully, "but I'm glad to have even been here and seen the concept of such a game. It's completely outstanding."

* * *

"Rosalina played the game at her own level, opposed to the rest of us," Wendy remembered, as the other players nodded in agreement. "She kept her own cool during the games and always added in at the perfect times."

_Flashback __**Rosalina:**__"But of course, we all know how false rumors can be because as we all know, Isle Delfino never had a queen at all!" (the auction crowd chuckles at her statement)_

"She played her best on the island," Diddy remembered. "I guess she wasn't being too irrational when she had to stay overnight there."

_(Rosalina is shown to be the one who ignited the fire on the island, much to the shame of Diddy and Yoshi)_

"And then seeing her aftermath look was quite appalling," Luvbi added, as the players laughed, "but amusing. She was an innocent player overall and didn't quite deserve to be executed."

"I mean, she did vote for the wrong person, right?" Wario butted in. He was immediately attacked by a row of vehement stares from the others, as Diddy laughed out loud.

* * *

"Anything that stuck out as your favorite memory?" McHallyboo asked her, as her bag was loaded onto the departing boat. Rosalina nodded as she stepped on.

"Oh, just working with the others," she said truthfully. "Planning the party on the island and seeing it all come to life was simply amazing." She pondered and smiled.

"After that, I wouldn't consider a party amidst another galaxy so far-fetched anymore," she told him, as she and the host laughed. Rosalina gave her goodbye and went aboard as the boat left the dock, on schedule.

* * *

As Rosalina waved goodbye to the host, she also waved as well to the boathouse, the same building she had brought the players to during their third mission, and the building that all remaining players were resided in at that very second. Through the only window and from the seats, the remaining players waved back as well.

"I feel terrible after every execution," Vivian said, her sadness only growing as the boat disappeared clear out of distance with the executed player aboard it. Rosalina had left.

"I think the more players who leave the game, the more confused you become," Bobbery stated. "You can't seem to trust anybody, until you know for sure that person isn't the Mole. The only way of course is through their execution."

"All right, a septuple-whammy execution!" Diddy said enthusiastically. "Let's end it all right now."

"Wouldn't it be a sextuple execution?" Goombella counted. "The Mole and winner are the only ones who can't be executed. But anyways, I wouldn't want that."

"I'd want to keep on playing though," Yoshi said truthfully. McHallyboo entered back into the boathouse.

"Well, rest is assured for Rosalina," he said, and then grinned. "Since you guys are still here, I'll want you all up and ready right at the dock in the morning." The players sighed at their minor misfortune.

* * *

_On the next episode of The Mole: Saboteur's Island,_

The eight players visit classic landmarks of Isle Delfino, and are split up to participate in mouth-watering games.

_Wendy:_ Usually making a BLT sandwich doesn't require traversing an entire construction working site. This is crazy.

The players also participate in a game of chicken, gaining money for their bravery. Who will suspect who, and which player will be sent home next as the Mole's third victim?

* * *

**And then there were eight! Another leaves, and the Mole still remains. Who is the saboteur?**

**Please list your top three suspects so far, and you're reasons for suspecting if you'd like. With Episode 2 done, a third one comes next, along with more missions, twists, and betrayal. Which player will end up out of the game? And most importantly, which player still stands as the saboteur?**

**Stay tuned!**


	10. Fruits of Value

**Episode 3**

_There is a second episode already done, and yet the Mole appeared once again before a victim. This time, Rosalina met her fate, having been one of the most calm players of the game and respected as well, but unable to pick out the true saboteur, resulting in her early doom. As the players continue to ponder the possibilities, the number of players begin to dwindle. They also continue to play the missions, hoping to win money with each one. But one of them is out to hinder their efforts of success, striking at every possible and available moment: the Mole._

* * *

**Vivian**

_Surname:_ Shadens

_Birthday: _October 4

_Occupation:_ Visual Display Artist

**Bobbery**

_Surname:_ Keelers

_Birthday:_ August 17

_Occupation:_ Admiral

**Wario**

_Surname:_ Garlimo

_Birthday:_ September 29

_Occupation:_ Moneylender/Explorer

**Yoshi**

_Surname: _Dino

_Birthday: _April 13

_Occupation: _Fruiterer/Waiter

**Wendy**

_Surname:_ Koopa

_Birthday:_ November 7

_Occupation:_ Singer/Dressmaker

**Luvbi**

_Surname:_Nimbis

_Birthday:_May 5

_Occupation:_Harpist/Oracle

**Diddy**

_Surname__:_ Kong

_Birthday__:_ October 21

_Occupation__:_ Competitive Kart Racer

**Goombella**

_Surname:_Frankster

_Birthday:_April 16

_Occupation:_ Archeologist

* * *

Diddy: _Your view apparently changes after a morning. I felt shocked and terrible about Rosalina's execution. Now right at this second, I'm just motivated that I'm still here._

Bobbery: _This game is quite a mind trip. There is sabotage by one person, but then a second later someone else sabotages. The Mole must be trained stealthily to do the most subtle sabotage out of all people._

Vivian: _I'm guessing this new episode might bring a few surprises for all of us. As long as I try my hardest and play in the right parts then I hope I'll feel successful, personally. _

* * *

At the dock of Delfino Plaza, the players met their host, who was dressed uncoordinatedly like always in his usual blue suit. The players faced him back in their tropical attire, unable to ignore the existence of the two boats waiting stationary at the dock.

"Greetings to Episode 3!" he told them. "Right now, I'll need three of you who hate working. The other five of you will be working with water." Wendy raised her hand immediately at full will.

"I absolutely hate working," Wendy said with a face of repulsion, keeping her hand up. "And I hate water."

Wario: _Well, no duh Wendy hated work! But maybe it was set up so that she would easily be put into the team of three._

"Ah, I'll go," Yoshi said relunctantly, raising his hand too, leaving one more spot remaining. Wario looked around at the remaining players, then at Yoshi and Wendy.

"Fine, I'll go as well," he said, raising his hand willingly. McHallyboo nodded at the three players.

"The three of you, please go there," he directed, pointing to the smaller water vehicle, then faced the five non-volunteering player.

"The five of you, please board the larger boat. You'll find a portable screen inside that'll I'll use to communicate with you from afar. I wish you five luck." The players boarded their according boats, off to their diverse missions. Episode three started as both boats left the plaza simultaneously.

Goombella: _Since we were all split into different games, it would be unfair for some people if the Mole sabotaged in one game, making the players in the other game unaware of what they did. So it all depended on word of mouth afterwards once the games were done._

* * *

McHallyboo rode along with the team of three, seeing their destination already in the distance. As all three players got a better look as well they immediately recognized their approaching station.

"Ricco Harbor, right?" Wendy asked, not believing her eyes. "You are kidding me, McHallyboo." As Yoshi looked on impatiently, Wario seemed indifferent as their boat reached closer to the gigantic port.

"Hey, you know you get the opposite of everything on _The Mole_," McHallyboo said, shrugging, an involuntary smile appearing on his face. Wendy sighed, not bothering to provoke a fight with their only host.

The boat approached the large port and stopped at the entry platform, as all four passengers stepped off into the midst of the gigantic harbor. Walking on, they continued until they reached a crane ladder, which brought them upon a raised platform, then to a fountain positioned at the center of the port. McHallyboo turned around, his arms folded.

"Well, my working-phobia friends, welcome to Ricco Harbor!" he announced to them. "I hope you enjoy your industrialized setting, because your game will be taking place here around this entire port. The game will be called One-Two-Three BLT." The players nodded, as the host spread his arms towards the vast water area, filled with platforms, levers, and construction contraptions of all sorts.

"Usually, BLT can stand for many things," the host said. "In this case it'll stand for Bacon, Lettuce, and Tomato. You'll be having a relay race around this working site in order to form a BLT sandwich in the end." All mouths of the three players were dropped open, though mostly in confusion.

Wendy: _Usually making a BLT sandwich doesn't require traversing an entire construction working site. This is crazy._

"There are three legs to this game, respectively, one person and ingredient for each part," the host continued, pointing to the narrow, yellow-colored cage hanging in the center of the port. While the top was open and exposed, the bottom was covered in a full layer of red-colored items.

"The relay will begin with the Tomato player, who will have to lower themselves down a cable rope and to the bottom of the vertically-long cage," McHallyboo explained. "Once at the bottom, they must find the green tomato, which holds the key to unlock the door in the grating. However, each harmed red tomato in the process will penalize 1,000 coins, so foot placing is apparently key. You cannot crawl, in other words, let your hands touch any of the tomatoes. Once the bottom door of the cage is unlocked, a tomato must be thrown down to the second player below as a baton."

He brought the players closer towards the edge, bringing a raised submarine into their view.

"The Lettuce Player must have the tomato in hand and enter into the top of the submarine. Once inside, they will find a refrigerator with a lock on it. A riddle is present that would help open the combination to the fridge in order to retrieve your lettuce head, quite frankly, retrieved after using your head. Once the fridge is unlocked, the submarine will automatically bring its way to the final part of the relay. You must then exit the submarine and hand your tomato and lettuce to the final player." He pointed towards their right, to a small wooden platform that stretched out from the main area of the beginning port platform.

"Over there, the third player will be Blooper Surfing," he informed them. "It's quite simple really. All you have to do is keep the tomato and lettuce in possession and surf your way through the path guided by the green flags, and into the sewer pipe all the way at the end. If you crash, your ingredients will not sink due to their buoyancy, but you must travel all the way to the beginning of the course, which of course, will waste valuable time. In the underground station at the end you will find your piece of bacon." The three players nodded, still overwhelmed by their mission as a whole.

"You'll be under an hour time limit," the host added. "The player at the end must then create a BLT sandwich and consume it. They do so under the allotted time, you add 15,000 coins to the pot. So, with all parts cleared, please assign yourselves with the three available ingredients."

"Okay!" Wario spoke up, facing his teammates. "Umm, say, what do you guys want?"

"I can do the tomato leg of the race," Yoshi said eagerly. "It actually sounds fun."

"I won't be doing the Blooper Surfing leg," Wendy said quickly. "I'll crash in the first ten seconds, and you guys will blame me just because I'm so physically inept."

"Leave it to me," Wario said arrogantly, the most physically inept of all. The three of them nodded, pleased with their assigned leg races.

"All right," McHallyboo concluded. "I'll be waiting at the end. You'll all be shortly brought to your starting stations. I wish your game the best of luck."

Yoshi: _I was happy Diddy wasn't with us, because he would have just forced us all our roles. Then he and Wendy would have had a wrestling fight afterwards._

* * *

The boat with the five remaining players reached their location for the beginning of Episode Three. Already slightly-familiar with their location they were eager to jump off and explore Isle Delfino's icon beach location.

"Wait, the screen!" Goombella remembered, returning back to the boat to retrieve it. The other four splashed off into the shallow water, too excited to care for their soaked feet as they reached the dry sand of Gelato Beach.

"Yes, the pure foot soother," Bobbery said in a half sigh, remembering his past island days. As Diddy, Vivian, and Luvbi walked behind him, Goombella caught up, holding the screen up for them to see. It was McHallyboo, back at Ricco Harbor but ready to give their rules via advanced technology.

"Greetings, players!" came McHallyboo from the video feed. "Welcome to Gelato beach, Isle Delfino's icon beach location and home of fruit festivals. Now, does anybody know what Gelato means?"

"It's the Italian regional variant for ice cream," Luvbi answered, her voice sounding refined.

"_Corretto_!" McHallyboo said. "The Italian language plays a large role here in Isle Delfino, and will too in your next game. I'll need two of you to be the Italian buffs, two people who can roll things up, and one person who will dock at the end."

"Well, we got this," Diddy said with a grin. "I'll go with the rolling, someone can-"

"No, you are not controlling us again," Goombella spoke up. "Let's choose for ourselves."

Diddy: _I'm not notorious for being a forceful player, am I? Or at least it's not a bad thing, I hope. Heh._

"Can I roll at least?" Diddy pleaded. Goombella nodded.

"Who is willing to roll as well?" Luvbi asked. "I'll obviously be an Italian buff."

"I'll go for the rolling job, whatever that is," Vivian said, going over to Diddy's side instantly. "I hope it doesn't involve anything heavy or tiring."

"I will assist Luvbi," Bobbery confirmed. Goombella nodded.

"Are you still there?" Goombella spoke to the portable screen. McHallyboo turned around from amidst the loud port of Ricco Harbor.

"Yep, and listening as well," he replied. "This game will be called Cocomero Corretto. All over this beach are little plants called Dune Buds. You apply enough water to one, it'll swell and a sand shape would burst into view. The two Italian Buffs, you'll be using a bucket to apply water to the dune buds in order to spring hidden paper instructions out, written in Italian, from the ground." Bobbery and Luvbi nodded.

"When translated, a paper will direct you towards a certain watermelon. Look around you. They're all over." The five of them looked closely at their surroundings and noticed the overlarge fruits scattered amok, located as far as up the cliff path and having been blended into the tropical background at first. Vivian and Diddy nodded in realization.

"The two rollers, you must roll the correct watermelons, without breaking them, to the pier on the west side. There, the solo player must bring the watermelon safely across the zig-zag pier and to the fruit stand hut. Each watermelon, or should I say _cocomero_, that makes it to the hut under the ninety minute time limit will add money to the team pot, with each successive one increasing in value. In total, this mission will be worth 15,000 coins." The players nodded, facing the screen so McHallyboo could see them back.

"We have producers in incognito hanging around this beach," the host added. "Consider them my Mole spies. They'll make sure that none of the rules during this game is broken; I'll have to give a penalization if they report any fishy behavior back to me during the course of this game. Bobbery and Luvbi, there is an Italian dictionary and bucket located in the hut on the right side of the beach that only you two can use. Only Diddy and Vivian can roll watermelons, and only Goombella can bring the watermelon across the dock.

Luvbi: _My concern was that if the Mole tried to sabotage, they would try and persuade someone to read the Italian dictionary besides us, thus breaking one of the crucial rules._

Vivian: _I was completely exhausted after the island mission, and the aftermaths were still kicking in for me. I wasn't sure if I would have enough strength to push watermelons, or at least give a full effort._

"Okay, so let's begin fellows!" Bobbery said, going off to the first Dune Bud plant in view.

"Wait, wait," McHallyboo spoke up rapidly, "I haven't even started the timer. Ease your ambition. The producers will put you in place. Goombella, please keep this portable screen with you at the dock." Three Nokis in shades faced their direction and proceeded over to where the five players stood dumbfounded, ready for the next game to begin.

* * *

Ricco Harbor's game was about to begin. Yoshi had been hoisted to the very top of the yellow shine cage, looking down to the red floor of tomatoes an approximate eighty feet below from the rim of the cage, where he was. He gulped, excited, but feeling more afraid than anything else.

"Oh wow," Wendy said, her voice in a half whisper as she saw the height Yoshi was located at.

"Are you ready?" McHallyboo yelled, speaking into the megaphone the players had been using from the previous episode. Yoshi stuck out a thumbs-up.

"Your hour timer begins now!" Yoshi immediately looked down the length of his needed travel, and giving his harness a quick check, he let go of the rim of the cage. Slowly, inch by inch, he made his way down the lengthened rope cable that would eventually bring him to the caged bottom.

Yoshi: _Gah, it was scary. I can't hide it. But without fear, there's no fun at all, so I would rather been doing that than stay in a boring submarine._

"Keep it going, Yoshi!" Wendy cheered. At the halfway level, he paused abruptly, facing down at the remainder of his remaining path. He let out a wheeze of fear as he saw his distance from the tomatoes below.

"No, keep looking up!" Wendy shouted, putting herself in his place. "You can do it!" Yoshi nodded, wiping the sweat on his shoulder as he continued down to the floor, this time at a quicker pace. Letting his grip on the cables loosen up, Yoshi's body swung wildly as he quickly descended, lowering rapidly towards the end of the rope. At least, Wendy saw Yoshi's figure coming closer to the cage bottom, nearer and nearer, then completely in contact with it. He had made it.

"I made it!" Yoshi shouted, fully relieved and standing proudly, looking through the cage bottom at the waiting player below. Wendy gave back a thrilled look.

"Okay, now you have to…umm, oh no," Wendy said from atop the submarine. "What do you have to do again?"

"Find the key in the green tomato," Yoshi remembered. His eyes searched the red-colored flooring as he stepped forwards imprecisely, squashing two tomatoes in the process, then another with a second step. Wendy cringed.

"Come on, at least use foot placing," she said, aggravated. "We're penalized with each tomato, remember?"

"Gah, sorry," Yoshi said apologetically, hearing the loud voice from below. On tip-toes, he stepped forwards again, and again, watching for both open placements for his feet and the all-important green tomato. Wendy sighed, seeing his slow progress.

"We have to speed things up just a bit," she said, her voice with a tint of a demand. Yoshi stepped faster, searching around for the lone tomato of different color. In the process he also squashed three extra tomatoes, making Wendy grunt testily.

Yoshi: _Wendy was getting angry at me. A second ago she was all proud, and the next second she was steaming and turning as red as a tomato…ah, no pun intended._

Wendy: _He wasn't even watching his foot placements, and we were losing money! He was making me so mad._

"Balance," Yoshi said to himself, keeping on his feet and thoroughly searching over the array of tomatoes. At last, he spotted the tomato of diverse color.

"I found it!" he yelled, hopping over to the nearby tomato, picking it up carefully. He laid it on his palm and with his other hand pounded it swiftly, tomato juice spraying everywhere as Yoshi winced, still keeping his balanced footing. He then knelt down and felt the lock around the cage floor door, then with the key in hand, unlocked it. The door swung open as Wendy saw him clearly.

"Okay, now throw a red tomato down here!" Wendy shouted from below, positioning herself from the top of the submarine to be directly below the cage door. Yoshi grabbed a red tomato and held it above the exposed air, waiting for Wendy as she got ready for the thirty-foot catch.

"Are you ready?" Yoshi asked out loud.

"I'm ready!" yelled Wendy, sticking her arms out. Yoshi dropped the tomato, the fruit falling towards the Koopa child in perfect aim as she tried to catch it in time. But the tomato only splattered on the surface before her, hitting the top of the submarine and leaving a red splotch. Yoshi groaned at the failure.

"Phew, that was a doozy," Wendy said, wiping the juice from her shoes. She looked up at Yoshi and shook her head.

"I can't catch it!" she told him. "I should have brought my sunglasses or something. The sun gets in my way." Yoshi looked down at the yellow submarine, then at the water surrounding all of Wendy.

"Hey, wait," he said out loud, looking down at her. "Maybe we can drop the tomato in the water instead."

"Well, wouldn't it sink?" she replied back, but then her eyes widened with memory at the words the host had told them before, when he was explaining the rules.

"No, he said the ingredients wouldn't!" she said, facing up at Yoshi. "You're right! Drop it in the water!" Yoshi took another tomato and aimed his shot, then threw it directly at the water situated besides the submarine. The tomato disappeared for a quick moment, but then returned back to the ocean surface. Both players grinned triumphantly.

"Oh yeah, right on!" Wendy said, and without thinking jumped directly into the water of the harbor. She swam, still unfamiliar with her sea surroundings, but was able to grab the afloat tomato.

Wendy: _I was so happy with the entire tomato discovery that I just jumped in after it, clothes and all. See? Bad stuff always has to happen whenever I become happy_.

"Ugh," she said, taking off her shoes and placing her socks neatly in the sun, atop the submarine to dry.

"I need to dry a bit," she informed, trying to obtain sympathy for her soaked status and myopic action. Yoshi looked down at her, concerned about their game's decreasing time limit.

"Come on Wendy, we're being timed!" he reminded her. "You can dry later." Wendy looked up and shot him an annoyed look, but then realized the truth.

"Forty-three minutes left!" McHallyboo shouted, running towards the end of the harbor, to the underground pipe location where the third leg of the relay would be ending. Wendy hopped into the door on the upper side of the submarine and then began her search for the second ingredient.

* * *

"Ready…set…go!" Goombella gave the signal to Bobbery and Luvbi on the other side of the beach, as the two Italian buffs raced to the ocean water, bucket and dictionary in hand. Diddy and Vivian remained at the hut, waiting their return and for their own job of rolling watermelons to begin.

"Okay, that'll be well enough," Bobbery said, as he and Luvbi retrieved their first full bucket of water. They hurriedly carried it to the first Dune Bud plant in view, and slowly began to apply water to the base of the plant. The plant swelled up immediately, becoming a purple plant that struck both players by surprise, then into a narrow vegetable. Bobbery's eyes widened with alarm.

Bobbery: _I knew what those plants did. I've known all about Mario's adventures and the tricky dune buds that he'd come across. I just didn't remember it until the last second._

"Wha-!" Luvbi cried, as Bobbery immediately tackled her to the side, just as an enormous shape of sand emerged from the sand in a flash directly from where the plant had just been. As quickly as it had appeared though the dune sculpture sunk back into the ground rapidly, as both Luvbi and Bobbery got up from the sand, gasping from their mission's beginning shock.

"Well, I'll be damned!" Bobbery sputtered, dusting the sand that created a glued layer on his shirt. Luvbi was still in a state of alarm, but then spotted the piece of paper that had appeared from the emerged Dune Bud. She and Bobbery made their way over to it and saw their first message, facing upwards at them:

_Parte anteriore del primo specchio_

"If we hadn't of gotten out of the way in time, we would have been flung up, you know?" Bobbery said, shaking his head. "A tragedy was just waiting."

"Yes, though I'm glad you knew," Luvbi said, dazed but focused on their first clue. She picked up the dictionary from the floor and searched for their needed words.

"If I can recall correctly, primo means first," Bobbery told her. She nodded.

"Parte anteriore means first part," she said, then looked for the definition of the word _specchio _next. She closed the dictionary.

"First part of the first mirror," she concluded. She and Bobbery turned around to see the three stout towers, located in a triangular formation and each one having its own solar panel placed on top of it. In front of the nearest mirror tower, situated right at is base was a single watermelon.

Bobbery: _Those watermelons were clearly genetically engineered. I haven't a clue what those Nokis put into them prior, but they were all just too huge. I worry with the fact that these watermelons are actually consumed every year. Not safe. _

"Okay, that must be it then!" Bobbery told her, as the two of them ran back to the hut on the East side of the beach. There, Diddy and Vivian sat waiting, watching them.

"Are you guys all right?" Vivian asked, concerned after seeing their near-injury experience.

"First part of the first mirror," Luvbi said swiftly, "and I'm assuming it's referring to the watermelon in front of that front mirror." The four of them saw their first watermelon clear in view.

"All right, let's go!" Diddy said, grabbing Vivian's hand, but then turned around to give them a pair of walkie-talkies, pointing to one in his pocket as well. As the two watermelon players departed, both Bobbery and Luvbi walked back to the water, starting their search for their three remaining papers.

Diddy and Vivian reached their first watermelon quickly, yet unknown to them, the frui locating was only half their trouble. They then had to roll each watermelon they found over to the pier where Goombella was waiting, each watermelon weighing over 400 pounds and having a diameter of four feet wide, from bottom to top, and side to side.

Vivian: _As soon as I tried pushing it, it just wouldn't budge. So the only way I could push it was leaning against it which finally made it move_.

"Yes, we got a move on!" Diddy said enthusiastically. They had managed their first ten feet after thirty seconds of initial attempt, and continued to roll the overlarge fruit in the direction of the fruit hut.

"Man, these are heavy!" Diddy said with wonder, huffing as he continued to put his weight onto the watermelon. Just a little more than halfway across their needed roll, Vivian got off the watermelon and looked at the ground, exhausted.

"You all right?" Diddy asked her. She nodded, her hands clutching her hips.

"I'm tired too," Diddy said reassuringly.

"I think we should have had Bobbery or someone else do this role of the game," Vivian said, her face full of fatigue. "Can we switch at all? I'm just so tired right now." Diddy gave her a look of worry.

"I'm sure it's against the rules to change roles now," he replied, trying to push the watermelon on his own. "But let's just bring this one to Goombella so we can rest afterwards. Come on!" Vivian caught her breath, nodded, and stood up straight, as the two of them applied pressure to the watermelon at the same time, continuing and bringing up once again their continuous roll as the 400-pound watermelon traversed its way to the pier. Once at its proper location, the two watermelon rollers dropped the fruit off at the front of the dock, and also in front of the cheering Goombella.

"Great job guys!" she said, as Diddy and Vivian both trudged off, back to the other hut. McHallyboo too gave a round of applause from his place at Ricco Harbor.

"Now that the first watermelon is here, I'll tell you how you will be rolling it to the end of the dock," McHallyboo spoke up. "This portable screen is actually a remote control. Inside these watermelons are large gyroscopic balls that roll according to your control. Almost like a Wii remote. They have just been activated, so test it, but lightly at first." Goombella looked at the device she was holding curiously, tilting it to its side. The entire watermelon rolled slightly to the left in response, as Goombella stepped back with surprise.

"Wow, that would have helped Vivian and Diddy a lot," she said, laughing as she watched them walk slowly towards the beach's other hut.

"You may only use the remote with watermelons that have reached the pier," McHallyboo warned her. "Or, you can willingly break the rules if you want." Goombella faced the screen, and at the host as well, her eyebrows narrowing with curiosity.

"Wait, what?" she asked, speaking into the screen-remote device.

"One of the watermelons has a thumbprint design carved into it, distinguishing itself from the others. If Vivian and Diddy manage to bring it to the pier, you can choose to steer the watermelon into the water for an exemption. However, once you do so, the money for that watermelon, plus the value of the watermelons already brought to safety, would then become void."

"Oh no," Goombella replied. With struggle, she resisted throwing the screen remote device, as well as McHallyboo himself, into the water besides her.

* * *

**The two games go on for the beginning of Episode 3! How will the Mole play in the remainder of their food-involving mission? And just how many other exemptions are to be offered this episode?** oiram atrac

**I'm actually considering a website to go along with this story, containing Player Bios, Mission Details, and the always-fun-to-create Execution videos. I'll probably get news next chapter on whether I'll continue the idea or not. **

**But for now, stay tuned for next part!**


	11. The Split Continues

**The split missions continue! The Mole plays on their game...**

**

* * *

**

**Episode 3**_** (Part 2)**_

"Goombella?" the host called back through the remote device. Goombella turned back down to face McHallyboo on the miniature screen.

"Sorry, I was just resisting throwing this entire device into the water," she told him. McHallyboo chuckled and shrugged.

"It's entirely up to you," McHallyboo continued. "But keep this in mind: if anyone breaks open the thumbprint-logo watermelon themselves before you can steer it into the water, they will win the exemption instead. However, only money for that sole watermelon would be lost."

"Well, thanks for making it more costly on me," Goombella said, rolling her eyes as well as the watermelon lightly with her gyroscopic controller. The screen shut off.

Goombella: _The choice whirled in my mind. Chances of being executed was basically 1/7, and I've known by experience that it's better to be safe than sorry. Well, I knew someone had to end up in my spot._

* * *

Wendy stepped down onto the metal floor of the inside of the submarine, looking at the two paths that stretched out on both sides of her. The two metallic hallways lead different directions.

"Ugh, what is this?" she complained, looking both ways and searching for any sign of the existence of lettuce. "How am I supposed to know which way the refrigerator is?" She suddenly realized the existence of a miniature sign, sticking out before her with a cryptic message required for her leg of the race:

_**It thumps heavy when a wiggler charges, or in true love mood,**_

_**Its anatomical location will bring you closer to food**_

Wendy: _These riddles were totally not meant for me. I should have gone Blooper surfing instead because the thinking parts of this whole game are definitely not designed for me._

"I have no idea!" she said out loud, directing her voice to the camera man staring from above her, on the submarine roof. After looking at the riddle again, she darted down the right path of the submarine, determined that she was leading herself in the correct way, or at least somewhere in the correct direction towards the lettuce. After traversing the entire length of the submarine hallway she came upon a small vent located at the very end, a discharge of steam profusely coming out of it. Wendy's eyes widened.

"No, I am sorry, player," came a voice from above her, as she noticed an intercom located in the upper-right corner of the dead-end she was in. "You went the wrong way."

"Well, that's actually good," she spoke back to the intercom, looking at the vent with relief and turning around to run the other direction. In total, she had spent three times as much time than opposed to if she had gone the correct direction in the first place. Wendy saw the sign again, her mouth dropping open.

"Oh, love…the heart!" she realized. "And it's located on the left side of the body…oh, why didn't I get that before??" She shook her head in wonder and continued down the correct hallway.

* * *

As Bobbery brought the bucket over to Luvbi, they both applied water to their second dune plant, hesitant but ready for their immediate action afterwards. They both ran to the side immediately as another sand figure emerged with tremendous force, revealing another slip of paper for their next watermelon.

"All right, let's take a look," Bobbery said, raising the paper up for them to see.

_Oltre alla capanna dove cocomero non destinate_

As Luvbi searched the dictionary, Bobbery pondered the definition of a few of their needed words.

"Capanna means---"

"Hut, I'm aware," Luvbi said, then searched for the definition of _anguria_. She pointed to her spotted word on the page.

"Non destinate…not destined…hmm," Luvbi continued. She found the rest of the phrase and closed the dictionary.

"It's basically saying, besides the hut where the watermelon shouldn't go," she told him. "I believe it's the watermelon right besides where Diddy and Vivian are located at."

"And I think you're correct, miss," Bobbery replied, taking out his walkie-talkie and speaking into it. He heard Diddy's voice in reply.

"Diddy, the next watermelon is right by where you are located, besides the hut!" he directed. Diddy gave him a thumbs-up from afar as the two watermelon rollers proceeded with their task. Luvbi picked up the bucket, but noticed something odd as she looked back at the path Bobbery had come from, leading from the beach water. A stream of water littered the sand in a straight line, and as she looked at the bucket, her eyes narrowed with perplexity.

"Did this bucket have a crack present since the beginning?" she questioned, turning the bucket over. Bobbery immediately looked at it too, a surprised look on his face.

"What! Not that I'm aware," he exclaimed, examining the bucket for itself. Located in the inside of the bucket and across the circumference of the bottom was a crack, small but bulky enough for both of them to notice.

Luvbi: _Bobbery arrives back and the bucket has a crack in it, of course, making it much more difficult for us to activate the sand dunes._

"Though on second thought," Bobbery said with consideration, "I may have inadvertently pushed the bucket too hard into the sand. The shore reaches high, so I was completely unaware how close the ground was positioned." Luvbi looked at the sea admiral, then at Diddy and Vivian pushing their watermelon to the pier and Goombella at full effort.

"But never mind that," Bobbery said immediately, seeing the unopened sand dunes in their view. "We have two more papers, and something tells us we won't be too lucky in choosing the right plants."

"Why is that?" Luvbi asked.

"Odds are against us, you see?" he told her, pointing to the five remaining Dune Buds around the beach. They headed off to the sea water for another bucket.

* * *

Wendy came to the end of her hallway and entered into a room that resembled the eating quarters of the submarine. On the table was a sign with a message, but she immediately turned her attention to the refrigerator instead, yearning for her locked ingredient.

"Yeah, I knew it," she said, fingering the chain that kept it shut closed. She looked over at her second riddle on the table, one that would provide for the completing of her leg of the race:

_**To get your lettuce, the combo is needed:**_

_**A quartet, bike, and week exceeded**_

"Okay well, numbers," she confirmed, looking at the second line of the riddle in heavier detail. She brought the paper over to the combination lock that kept the fridge chained shut, as she went over the word possibilities in her mind.

Wendy: _I immediately thought of the words in relation to numbers, and I got it right away. I wasn't entirely dumb when it came to using your brain. I was totally kidding earlier._

"Two for bicycle," she said. "Quartet…four people." She turned the first two numbers on the combination lock accordingly, and then looked at the last part of her brainteaser.

"Umm, a week…." she said, her mind puzzled. Trying to place the word 'exceeded' into the picture, she turned the dial slowly.

"Seven," she decided, turning the lock to the number 7. She pulled down, only for the chain to remain in place wrapped around the fridge. Wendy frowned.

"A week exceeded," she repeated, turning the numbers again and stopping on the final turn. She moved the dial to the number 8 and pulled down on the lock, as it opened and caused the chain to fall out of place to the floor, activating a beeping sound. Wendy jumped up with excitement and opened up the refrigerator.

"Yes, I'm smart!" she said to herself, grabbing her head of lettuce and quickly exiting the submarine kitchen. Jumping her way gleefully towards the submarine exit, she was interrupted by an immense shaking sound coming from all sides of her as she screamed and ducked to the metal ground, tomato and lettuce in hand. The submarine was bringing its way to the beginning of the final leg.

* * *

"Oomph," Vivian said in a half-gasp, as the watermelon reached Goombella's area of retrieval. She bent over, tired but standing up.

"You all right, Vivian?" Goombella asked her, concerned. Vivian nodded slowly.

"Just a little tired," she replied. "I think I might rest in the hut for a little." Diddy stepped back and examined the watermelon they had recently rolled over to the pier.

"This one looks bigger than the watermelon before," he noticed. "McHallyboo, how much is this watermelon worth?"

"Two thousand coins," the host spoke from the screen device. "The first one was worth one thousand. The next one will be worth four thousand; the last one will be worth 8,000 coins. If you noticed, each successive fruit doubles in value." Diddy nodded, as he and Vivian went to return to their other waiting hut. Goombella shook her head, looking down at McHallyboo on the screen.

"Make sure this watermelon doesn't fall into the water when you roll it," the host said with a chuckle, seeing the large fruit located behind Goombella on his own separate screen.

"Oh, yeah," Goombella replied with a grin. "On second thought, I won't let any of them fall into the water. I'm not taking the exemption and that's final!" The host looked back at her, trying to hide his amazedness.

"Oh?" he asked in a surprised voice. "You sure?"

"I'm pretty decided," she said with a sigh, but sounding confirmed in her choice. "And plus, I'm confident enough on the quizzes anyway. I don't need to cost the team money." McHallyboo nodded slowly.

"All right," he told her, "but you're free to change your mind at any point in the game, you know? Make your choice." Goombella nodded, then turned to Bobbery and Luvbi in the distance as they brought their bucket of water over to the next Dune Bud. Their bucket leaking in the process, they were forced to dump their entire supply of water over the plant as they both hopped away in time. The shape emerged from the sand of a pyramid, with no paper visible.

"It should be somewhere," Luvbi said, scanning the ground. Bobbery shook his head as they two of them went back for another bucket full of water. Once repossessed, they headed towards the beach and splattered the water on the Dune Bud located closest to Goombella. Goombella shielded her eyes as sand splattered amuck, the dome-shaped sand figure shooting out and sinking immediately back in.

"Our third paper!" Bobbery said triumphantly, picking it up. Both he and Luvbi read their third phrase in Italian:

_Dietro la casa uccello di sabbia_

"Okay, translation," Luvbi said rapidly, opening the book.

"Behind the house," Bobbery translated, "is the first part. I'm certain on that." Luvbi flipped through the dictionary pages then frowned.

"Di sabbia means sand," Luvbi spotted, looking through the pages. "But I can't find _uccello_. I doubt it's located in this book at all."

"Odd," Bobbery commented. "Do you think the producers wanted us to find it on our own?" Luvbi nodded, looking elsewhere.

"I would assume that likely," she replied, closing the dictionary. Bobbery took it from her, as Luvbi handed him the dictionary reluctantly, both walking towards the hut house of Diddy and Vivian. Bobbery's opened up the book and looked at the according place in the dictionary for their missing word, and then halted before they could deliver their full message to the watermelon rollers.

"Luvbi, look here!" he declared, spotting the word _Uccello_ in its proper spot. "Bird is its definition." Luvbi looked surprised, but then faced the back of the beach, at the grandest tower that protruded higher above all things existing on Gelato Beach.

Bobbery: _Usually Luvbi is the one spotting all the things in this game, yet she misses a word among a dictionary. It was something out of character, like what Wendy would do._

"Diddy, am I heard?" she called in, turning on their walkie-talkie.

"Yep," Diddy replied back, and then added, "Vivian is resting. What do you want?" Bobbery seemed baffled, but mentioned for Luvbi to go on.

"The next location is behind the sand bird's nest tower," she told him. "Will you guys be heading there right now?" Diddy looked over at Vivian, who gave a "no" signal with exhaustion. Diddy paused, and then continued.

"Yeah, but just me," he said back into the walkie-talkie. "Vivian has to rest a little bit, and then she'll join me with the pushing." He darted out of the hut and off to their third watermelon.

"Vivian is resting?" Luvbi asked curiously. Bobbery shrugged.

Bobbery: _Without me being an Italian buff, we would have never gotten those definitions as quickly as we did. So I didn't regret my placement for that mission_ _and leaving Vivian as a watermelon roller_

Diddy: _Where's Mario or Luigi when you need them?_

* * *

The submarine rose up again to the surface, as Wario stepped away from it with caution from atop his wooden platform: the beginning location of Leg 3. Once fully surfaced, the top of the submarine was removed as Wendy crawled her way out, shaken, but with both the lettuce and tomato in her hands. She handed off the food ingredients to Wario.

"What are these?" he demanded, confused.

"The ingredients, dummy!" she said with disbelief. "We have less than thirty minutes to make the sandwich!" Wario took them, then looked at the green-shaded racing Blooper before him, the animal bobbing slowly on the surface of the water and waiting patiently for the beginning of their high-speed travel.

"Well, about time," he said, putting one foot onto the Blooper, "Because I'm ready to try this baby!" With an ingredient in each of his hands, he put both feet on the surfing Blooper, activating a certain stimuli that caused the animal to jet forwards in an instant.

**Surfing Attempt 1**

Almost immediately Wario fell off the Blooper, backwards and landing in the water a few feet from the edge of the wooden platform as the animal continued on forwards in a blur. Wendy burst into laughter.

Wendy: _Apparently Wario was not prepared at all, because he just fell flat on his back the minute the Blooper started to move. I got a good laugh at the most, but he just wasted time._

"Well, maybe if it paused before it shot off I could have taken it!" Wario sputtered, giving off his bad-tempered excuse. As a producer quickly brought in the existence of another Blooper, Wario grabbed the two floating ingredients and made his way back onto the dock.

**Surfing Attempt 2**

Wario handed his hat to Wendy, more ready than he was in his previous attempt as he stepped both feet onto the animal. In an instant, both the Blooper and Wario whizzed from the starting dock. This time, Wario's feet were secured into the soft gelatin substance on the surface of the Blooper, opposed to where they had been his previous time around. As Wendy hollered after him, Wario made his first steer, towards the left.

Wario: _The water was just whizzing into my face, so just seeing alone was hard, and even almost impossible!_

He zoomed right under a raised platform, heading himself towards a stationary motor boat in the middle of the water-based scene. Wario froze, his live vehicle heading directly towards it.

"The boat!" Wendy yelled immediately. Wario steered the Blooper sharply to the right side, avoiding a collision with the rectangular piece of machinery. Wendy looked with horror as Wario swerved directly into a platform pole.

**Surfing Attempt 3**

Wendy: _I don't see why he had to cut across the dangerous obstacles. That seemed very fishy to me, because all the while he could have just used a path around the Bloopers._

"You don't make it this time, you're the Mole," Wendy decided. Wario looked directly at her.

"What?!" he snorted. "That'll prove nothing! But whatevers, I can show you how much better I am than you at surfing."

"Yeah, so much better," Wendy replied sarcastically. "Time is wasting cause of you."

"You probably couldn't even step on one of these!" Wario said with annoyance. Wendy looked back at him, unable to admit his correct statement.

Attempt 3 began as Wario put his feet onto the Blooper for the third time, as it sped off. He and the whizzing animal steered immediately to the left, taking a path that went below the yellow cage as he maneuvered a clear path free from any obstacles.

"Go, Wario!" Yoshi shouted from above, seeing the surfing player zoom by on the surface below.

Wario saw the end pipe in clear view, two green flags placed on both sides of its entrance. As Wario ducked slightly, he kept his ongoing direction as he steered the Blooper right, then left and towards the black abyss that waited at the end of their relay. Their mission was close to its end, and their sandwich was near its completion.

* * *

"Hey, I'm here," Vivian said, running over to Diddy's position behind the sand bird tower. As she saw him, she looked at him with alarm: a shovel was in his hand, and he was repeatedly whacking the large watermelon with the edge of the blade, digging into it from every possible side.

"What are you doing" Vivian gasped. Diddy turned to her, then turned back to his process of watermelon slaughtering. The two of them were located behind the sand bird tower nest, their actions out of view from the others.

"Gee, what does it look like I'm doing?" Diddy asked her.

"Umm, killing the watermelon?" Vivian answered. "Or at least doing something that will cost us money. McHallyboo said we had to bring the watermelons unharmed to the pier, in order for them to be worth something. I think you might be doing something wrong."

"Yeah, but look at this first, then consider," Diddy told her, mentioning her to look at the other side of the enlarged fruit. A large thumbprint designed had been carved into the upper-side of the watermelon, displaying the main symbol for their game and serving as an optional clue for the players.

"How about hitting the thumbprint design instead?" Vivian wondered. "Maybe the hidden object is there." Diddy stopped in realization, and then swiftly dug his shovel directly into the center of the thumbprint carving, pushing the handle further so that the entirety of the blade was sunk into the midst of the giant fruit. Once fully in, he pushed the handle down and brought out a large chunk of watermelon innards, as Vivian stepped back with a stunned look. Diddy stepped back too, dumping the contents of his shovel onto the ground and sitting down, exhausted. He looked at the slimy mess around him, caused by his ambition.

"Man," Diddy said, looking at the obliterated watermelon, almost regretfully. "Maybe I did do something wrong."

"Wait, what's that?" Vivian said, spotting a green object among the red mush of watermelon. Diddy jumped forwards as he saw the object himself, grabbing the shiny object and looking closely at the sole word engraved into its circular surface:

_**EXEMPTION**_

"No I didn't!" he shouted, jumping towards Vivian, who stepped back in alarm once again. "I didn't do anything wrong! I just won an exemption!" He hollered with ecstasy, jumping off the miniature cliff and onto the main ground as he skipped off to show the others. Vivian followed after him, befuddled.

Vivian: _I left myself at the hut, and when I came back to Diddy he immediately just wins an exemption out of nowhere. It confused me just thinking how an exemption was in one of the watermelons in the first place._

Diddy:_ I knew the thumbprint design meant something. And it did! I'm the luckiest monkey in the world, and nobody was meant to get that exemption except for me. It was good Vivian decided to stay in the hut, otherwise I don't think I would've done anything like that._

"Proof!" Bobbery insisted, skeptic of Diddy's green coin. All four players went over to Goombella's location, as McHallyboo explained the following event in confirmed details.

"Earlier actually, Goombella had been offered to steer the thumbprint watermelon into the water for the exemption herself," McHallyboo said, as all eyes turned to the dock player.

"Well, I wouldn't have done it anyway," Goombella told them truthfully.

"However, this also left the option for either Vivian or Diddy to get the exemption themselves, and by retrieving the token out of the watermelon, Diddy gained himself an exemption. That being, he's guaranteed to be in the next episode." Diddy grinned, as the others felt a wave of dislike.

"Oh, and that watermelon is now destroyed, so there goes four thousand coins," McHallyboo added. "Exemptions must come at a cost, you know?"

"Yes, I should know that quite well," Luvbi said with a slight smile, looking at the green coin in Diddy's palm.

"Man, sorry guys," Diddy said, his voice sounding more delighted than remorseful.

"But," McHallyboo interrupted, "you still have over thirty minutes to get your last, final watermelon, worth eight thousand coins. Your cooperation depends on this. Good luck!" Everyone but Goombella departed from the dock area and to their designated spots, Diddy grinning with the metallic token in his hands that guaranteed his survival.

* * *

Wario came upon the Blooper racing obstacle the moment he entered the Ricco Harbor sewers, located right under the main pier and at the entrance of the pipe he had entered. As his green Blooper came to a steady halt, Wario jumped off and stood on the main platform, a table located before him, along with a plate, a knife, a piece of bacon, and an expecting host.

"Greetings Wario," McHallyboo greeted him, as Wario walked towards the array of items, the two ingredients in his hands.

"What, I have to actually make the sandwich?!" he said irritably.

"As the saying goes, there is no free food in this world," the host told him. "You have nine minutes left." Wario placed the tomato down onto the table and began sawing it into bits, not bothering to slice it in the traditional proper format. As time went by, he began cutting the lettuce head, chopping each leaf off and into its own separate manner, then went to pile the bacon atop the other culinary items, ready to form into a proper BLT sandwich.

"Hola!" said a voice from the pipe behind him. Yoshi appeared on his own miniature boat, rowing it as Wendy sat in the back, her legs stretched out and socks dried besides her. As Yoshi stepped off and witnessed Wario's remainder of the mission, Wendy remained where she was, apparently not moving from her position.

"So this all right, McHallyboo?" Wario asked, holding up the three-ingredient sandwich for the host to see.

"I see all three ingredients indeed, so that is indeed a BLT sandwich!" McHallyboo said with confirmation. "But I have an offer to make to you before you eat it." Wendy immediately got up onto her feet from the inside of their row boat, bedazzled at McHallyboo's twist statement.

"Oh no, not again!" Wendy exclaimed. She turned to the host with an angry stare.

"The value for this mission now stands at eight thousand coins," said McHallyboo. "Seven thousand was already lost in the tomato mishap earlier during this game." Yoshi smiled awkwardly, as Wendy glared at him.

"This is for an exemption, Wario," the host told him. "You can throw the sandwich right into the water behind us to receive it, but all money for this mission will be lost, and your work here would then be deemed worthless." McHallyboo pointed to the expanse remainder area of the Blooper obstacle course behind them, intensifying its existence of water. Wario gulped, looking at the sandwich.

"Or, you can eat it and win the game," the host added. "Which is it going to be?"

"Gah, Wario," Yoshi said, looking sad at the host's sudden offer. "Just eat it for all of us, please?" Wendy instantly got out of her miniature row boat and stepped her way hurriedly to Wario, putting her face up to his and ignoring the fact that she had gotten her socks wet once again in the process.

"How dare you accept the exemption!" Wendy said, staring vehemently at Wario. Wario seemed stunned at the player's sudden appearance before him.

"Err, I didn't take it yet," Wario retorted. He looked contemplatively at the BLT sandwich he had made, then at McHallyboo on the other side of the table.

"Well, I know you will anyway," Wendy replied, folding her arms. "So go ahead."

"Wario, no!" Yoshi begged, travelling up to the BLT table as well, "We worked hard too. Please don't just take the exemption and ignore us. Do it for all of us!"

Wario turned to his two teammates, one of them with pleading eyes and the other with a smirk displayed on her face. McHallyboo twirled the green card in his hand playfully, the word **EXEMPTION** reflected off its front as Wario finally made his mind.

"All right, I'll eat the sandwich," he said slowly, "only if Wendy admits she can't Blooper surf as good as I can." Wendy's face turned from relieved to unenthusiastic.

"Never mind, go ahead and take the exemption," Wendy decided, her mind changing instantly. Yoshi's face dropped from a smile to a look of horror.

"What? No!" Yoshi sputtered, looking at her with disbelief. "You can't just say that!"

"I can say whatever I want," Wendy corrected, "and I just said what I meant." Wario snickered.

"Well, if she doesn't say it…" Wario raised the sandwich slowly into the air, his arm tilting in the direction of the open water.

"No, I won't," Wendy repeated. Wario frowned.

"Just say it," the obese individual said in a half-demand.

"I'm not degrading myself to the level of a person like you," Wendy snorted. McHallyboo grinned silently at the building drama, as Yoshi scratched his head.

"Come on," Yoshi pleaded. "Wario is actually willing to give his exemption away. This is like a rare moment!"

"Yeah, surprise, surprise," Wario grumbled, slowly reconsidering his decision.

"Hey, admitting that you're not good at Blooper surfing isn't really that bad," Yoshi told Wendy.

"Well, I know, but…" Wendy started. She looked over at the Blooper behind her, catching her attention as it splashed heavily against the edge of the soaked platform they were standing on, almost as if it were trying to reach out to her. She sighed, realizing her irrationality.

"Fine, fine, Wario happens to be a better Blooper surfer than I am," she murmured in a fast tone, rolling her eyes. Yoshi jumped with success as Wario gulped the sandwich in literally one bite, the bread and all three ingredients that the three of them had hard worked for gone in a matter of seconds. McHallyboo put the exemption card back into his coat pocket and looked at his pocket watch, then smiled up at the players.

"Well congrats, you just boosted your team pot 8,000 coins!" he announced. "Ricco Harbor ends in a surprise win. Well done, workers."

**Team Pot**

_58,000 coins_

"Well, I'm still surprised though," Wendy said truthfully, looking at the empty plate, "that you took money for the team pot over an exemption." Wario mumbled something under his breath.

"Nah, I think it's better to play fair," Yoshi spoke up. "When Luvbi took that exemption in the first episode, it kinda ruined the game for all of us. Especially Boo."

"Oh, don't remind me of that, ever!" Wendy said, holding her hand up and covering one ear.

"Well, if I get executed this episode you'll owe me something big time!" Wario told them, more jokingly than in an angry manner. The three of them followed McHallyboo onto the spare rowing boat and out of the sewers, then towards their original boat as they journeyed away from the industrialized sea port.

* * *

Bobbery and Luvbi darted out of the way as their presumed final Dune Bud was supplied with water. As the sand sculpture sank back into the ground though, it was apparent that no clue in Italian had emerged out.

"Nonsense," Bobbery said, looking around the beach for any other Dune Buds.

"Perhaps the final clue is not located in a Dune Bud," Luvbi considered. "Opposed to being in one of the plants. Maybe the clue is located elsewhere for us. Think." Bobbery furrowed his eyebrows, thinking, but then pointed towards the flora area of the beach.

"A Dune Bud indeed!" he noticed, as he and Luvbi brought their bucket over to the Dune Bud sequestered from the majority of the others. Luvbi frowned as Bobbery inverted the bucket: the water had leaked out.

"Oh, and yet again the bucket crack has cost us," Luvbi stated bitterly as Bobbery went to fetch their final bucket of water. Together, they poured the water onto the plant, ducking away in time as this time around, the Dune Bud sunk swiftly into the ground instead of popping up, forming the shape of a large dinosaur footprint. In the middle of the depression was their final clue.

"So, translation---" Luvbi began, but Bobbery held the paper up for her to see.

"No, this one is rather different than the others," Bobbery noticed, reading over the message, one that differed from the previous ones with the fact that there was no need for a translation. But a heavy translation would be required in order to understand its proper, accurate meaning:

_The Mole's act is closer than you think_

* * *

**Episode 3 continues! The pot grows, and so does the Mole's various attempts.**

**(Edit: I had decided to scrap the idea of a twist execution for Episode 3, and have actually prepared for its arrival at the end of Episode 4 instead. That being, the ending for Episode 2 was altered a little bit to prevent confusion)**

**A new picture is located on my profile! This time, it's the flier that was handed out during Episode 2's party mission. Can you see its connection to the Mole?**

**And I'm definitely planning the website, so hopefully it'll be open before Episode 4 starts. Thank you to all reviewers! The website is dedicated right to you guys, heh =) **

**Stay tuned!**


	12. Greens, Teams, and Chuckles

**Episode 3**_** (Part 3)**_

"Well, what is it now?" Bobbery asked himself out loud. "Is there a hidden meaning to this? An act by the Mole located on this beach by another overlarge watermelon? Or is the saboteur really close by? Mysteries ahoy in this paradise." Luvbi rolled her eyes at Bobbery's rambling, and sighed, amused.

"Flip it over," Luvbi directed. On the back, their Italian phrase was made visible:

_Il molto superiore_

"Do you happen to have the dictionary?" Luvvi said suddenly. Bobbery turned around to look at their surroundings, baffled.

"Why, I never had it," Bobbery said, puzzled. "Where in the world did it go?"

Bobbery: _We scanned the beach for at least a good five minutes. It was incredible, witnessing a book we had vanish seemingly into the sand of the beach._

The dictionary was gone.

"Well, now we must really depend on our Latin skills, whatever amount that is," Luvbi said hastily, as the two of them looked at their Italian clue again.

"Well, a book doesn't just vanish," Bobbery said, convinced that the book had been taken away for the purpose of their game. ""Il is the definition for 'the', is that correct?"

"Molto…it may be a cognate for molten," Luvbi stated, turning towards the direction of the coral reef. Bobbery shook his head, seeing no watermelon along the shore in her supposed direction.

"I wouldn't think so," he told her with disagreement. "And the coral reef is too hazardous for anything. All except for Mario, whenever he needs spare change."

"Well, Bobbery, it's the only plausible interpretation," Luvbi stated in a voice of dissent.

"Or if I'm not mistaken, _superiore_ is a cognate of superior," Bobbery considered, "which may point to the watermelon at the very top." He pointed towards the direction of the watermelon that had caught his eye for the entirety of the game since its beginning, located higher than any of the other gigantic fruits and resting at the top of the cliff side, towards the very back of the beach. Luvbi nodded slowly in agreement.

"But it's colossal," she said flatly.

"Well, wouldn't it then be worth eight thousand coins?" Bobbery said with even more self-confidence. "This is what I believe our translation is pointing to, and it is indeed the most superior out of all. Look at the size of that." He faced the hut with the two watermelon rollers and whistled, catching their attention.

"Diddy! Vivian!" he called to them. "Our final watermelon is up there, the one located at the very top of the cliff. Scurry!"

"Yes, captain!" Diddy replied, more passionate than ever as he slipped the green coin back into his pocket. Vivian looked up at the direction of their final watermelon, her face turning into an expression of dismay.

"How do we even get to the top anyway?" she asked out loud. She and Diddy continued ahead, back to the spot where Diddy had opened up their thumbprint watermelon; the area was covered with the sticky and flesh-colored remains of their demolished fruit. A small indent formed into the mountain ahead of them, and seen on the small patch of land was yet another Dune Bud.

"Hey, we need more water!" Diddy shouted behind them to the bucket retrievers. "There's a plant here that I think will help us to the top."

Within two minutes, the two other players appeared in view as they trudged the bucket of water to their location, ready to activate their final dune bud.

"Oh, please." Luvbi frowned when she saw the final Dune bud, dropping the bucket as their retrieved water poured into a wasteful pile onto the sandy ground. Bobbery wheezed with surprise and stepped back from her action.

"What in the Scarlett was that for?!" Bobbery asked with disbelief.

"Well, maybe if blindness didn't attack people so often, you'd see why," Luvbi said, pointing to a hose that emerged from the mountain side, built and constructed for the very use of activating that sole Dune Bud. Diddy laughed as well, realizing his stupidity.

Diddy: _You become blind when you concentrate on too many things. In my case, I had an exemption coin in my pocket, so that was all I was pretty much thinking about._

"Yep, blindness indeed," he admitted, grabbing the hose and using it to apply water to the plant. He stepped back, noticing the land in front of him rise in the formation of leveled steps, as he and Bobbery proportioned the water onto the plant together. Luvbi and Vivian stood back and merely watched.

"Vivian, remember when I won the exemption in the very first episode?" Luvbi began, making sure that neither of the male players could hear her. "It was simply declared to me. No physical objects involved." Vivian nodded, not fully understanding her.

"Sorry, I don't follow," Vivian admitted, laughing lightly.

"Like, we know Diddy has a coin that represents the exemption," Luvbi explained even more. "But what if it wasn't in his possession anymore? What if by the end of the mission, someone else had it in their hands?" Vivian nodded again, but this time looking straight at Luvbi with understanding.

"You mean, steal it?" she asked, covering her mouth.

"Well, I'm not saying it's exactly allowed," Luvbi said with a sly smile, "and it's hard to devise a plan in two minutes. It was just a thought."

Luvbi: _The rules of this game tend to be elastic. I wasn't found breaking the rules during the party mission last episode when I handed money to a partier, so whenever something wasn't stated in our "Against the Rules" list by McHallyboo, I would always consider it._

"Done!" Diddy said, patting the coin in his pocket to be assured by its existence. "Let's climb!" Both he and Bobbery headed up the solid flight of stairs that they had recently formed from the hose, as Vivian suddenly snapped back to what was happening.

"No wait, Bobbery you can't push!" Vivian remembered. "Otherwise we'd break the rules." Bobbery stopped in realization too, then headed back to the main floor with dissatisfaction. Vivian followed Diddy as the two of them reached the top of the cliff side, the watermelon becoming more visible in view. A curving path lead them to the center of the mountain top, and as they both stood by the fruit, Vivian got a clear view of Gelato Beach from the highest point possible.

Vivian: _The view was stunning. One look of the beach from above energized me so much, and made me happy that I was playing the game in the first place._

"Fifteen minutes, and almost done," Diddy said, who was facing the other way and already attempting to push the watermelon over the cliff. "Let's topple it! Push!" Vivian leaned over the edge of the cliff, seeing the distance for the watermelon's impending drop. She shook her head and went over to Diddy.

"No, it won't survive," Vivian said with sureness. "It'll be more of a mess than that other watermelon if we drop it from here."

"So?" Diddy said, trying to push the fruit off the cliff alone.

"It'll be broken and won't count for any money!" Vivian reminded him.

"Oh, yeah," he said to her, stopping, then walking over to the other side of the fruit of value. The two of them rolled their watermelon towards the another direction, ready to roll it over a minute hill, a shortcut that omitted the trail they had used earlier that led directly to the sand stairs, from the top of the mountain.

"If anything, it might smash into a tree," Diddy said, unsure.

"Let's just hope," Vivian said nervously. Taking a deep breath, they pushed their full force onto the watermelon, as it went over the hill and down, towards the flight of sand stairs rapidly as it rolled down the steps in an instant.

"Luvbi, out!" Bobbery barked hastily, pulling her aside as the high-speed watermelon continued down the path, showing no signs of stopping. As Diddy and Vivian watched the watermelon roll across the entirety of Gelato beach with shock, Luvbi got up from the ground she had fallen onto, dusting herself off and in an irate mood.

"Your myopia is simply terrible!" she shouted up at them, facing the two players who had pushed the watermelon down the hill. "This game is getting more volatile by the second."

"And once again, I save you," Bobbery said gruffly, "though it is becoming tradition now." The two Italian buffs laughed, then faced the direction of where the watermelon had gone. Surprisingly, it had traversed the entirety of the area, its roll leaving a heavy dark trail in the sand that lead to the water, as they saw it stationary, barely touching the shore of the beach but its full surface area completely covered with a coating of sand.

"Well, that had a lot of potential energy!" Diddy shouted from above, laughing. The two of them stepped down from the cliff, and with more than ten minutes to spare, did their last watermelon roll to the dock as their final fruit of value was cashed in.

* * *

**Team Pot**

_69,000 coins_

"Buono lavoro!" McHallyboo shouted from the screen the players were huddling around. "And rather, err, _provocante_ if I must add. Hah! You added eleven thousand coins to the pot. For the most part, your mission was a success."

"Yes, and would have been a full success if Diddy had not have been all fruity," Luvbi added.

"Oh, come on," Diddy said back to her, ignoring the unfinished Hallyboo on the other side. "I have nothing to explain! You're jealous. Jealous, jealous, jealous."

"You cost money," Luvbi pointed out.

"Well, someone was going to get it anyway!" Diddy told her. "Thus I was smart. I knew something was fishy with that watermelon."

Bobbery: _It was only two episodes ago that the situation was just the opposite, with Luvbi obtaining the exemption and Diddy being argumentative. Irony at its maximum._

"A primate's instinct," Diddy said, holding the coin up for the umpteenth time in the past half hour.

"More like a Moley instinct," Luvbi commented. "But, what's done is done. Let's continue." Diddy grinned and put his coin away.

"With the games done, you guys can head back to Delfino Plaza now," McHallyboo informed them, "or, you can settle for luxurious refreshments right behind you and stay here a bit."

The players looked behind them and saw figure at the end of the dock, rising out from behind the hut counter as the players were taken back with surprise. With a tray of watermelon smoothies in his hand, the plumber with overalls, mustache, and cap of distinguished color stood out before them, smiling at the end of the dock's path.

"Luigi!" the players shouted almost immediately. Forgetting all about McHallyboo, the five players walked eagerly into the presence of Luigi, last year's winner of the very game they were currently in the midst of.

"It's the lad from the first one!" Bobbery said, shaking his hand. "Well played, my boy!" Luigi shook it, flattered.

"Wait, you were hiding behind in this hut the whole time?" Goombella asked with incredulity.

"Of course I a was!" Luigi told her, putting the tray down and pointing down at the small compartment he was located in for the entire game. "And if any of you had actually looked here, I could have helped you with the Italian translations. The producers took away the dictionary at the very last moment during your mission." Bobbery and Luvbi faced each other in recognition.

Luvbi: _I was slightly hoping Luigi wouldn't reveal that. I was hoping to at least play with Bobbery's mind a little bit._

"But meanwhile, I made a smoothies for all of you!" he continued. Each player willingly took one.

"Boy, I was watching you guys pushing watermelons over and over again," Luigi told them, facing the large watermelon besides at the back of the hut. "This season must be harder than the first one."

"Well, it's only the beginning," Vivian considered. "Hopefully it'll get easier from now on." Luigi let out a laugh, nearly choking on his own smoothie.

"Oh no, it only gets harder," he informed her. Vivian's face dropped into an expression of dismay.

Vivian: _The game had been already hard, and Luigi informs us that things are just beginning. Oh dear…maybe executions do bring people some relief._

"But no worries!" he added. "If I made it to the end, so can you."

"So Mr. Luigi, any tips on anything that's coming up, like any missions or twists?" Diddy asked him with a grin, "cause I'm sure you know something!" Luigi tapped his hat with confusion, then shrugged.

"Nothing of my knowledge," he said in a truthful voice. "But from my extensive watching of you players, I think I can already pinpoint the Mole." The five players turned to him, fully engrossed.

"Oh, is that so?" Luvbi replied, laughing.

"Yes, and I would pick you actually!" Luigi said, pointing directly at her. Luvbi's smile remained as the others looked at Luigi, and then turned to the accused player.

"Well, reasons would help," Luvbi asked in a curious tone. Luigi shrugged.

"I dunno," he admitted, "but you remind me of Toadette. That's all there is to it."

"Oh, well," Luvbi stated, taking a sip from her smoothie, "it'd be quite foolish for this Mole to be just like the previous one. The producers would never think of doing such a thing! And I'm quite correct---"

"Ah, and that is where you are wrong!" Luigi said, jumping up and startling her. "This game will be full of twists! You never know what's going to jump out next, be it a surprise execution or a wiggler."

"Wiggler?" Bobbery said inquisitively. Luigi immediately shut his mouth, turning to see the confused expressions on the faces around him. He laughed awkwardly.

"Yeah, err, it's just an analogy," he told them, nodding and trying to sip at the same time.

Bobbery: _Well,, I'd be darned. Luigi knew more than he was telling us. These darned cameos always make us more confused than we already are._

* * *

The three working players headed even slower back to Delfino Plaza than they had left, McHallyboo aboard with them who was trying to get the players' attention back at Gelato Beach via metal device.

"So let's see," Wario said out loud, counting with his fingers, "if I had the exemption, the ratio of me staying alive would have been one to one."

"Wow, you're actually smarter than you appear," Wendy had to admit, unclear with ratios herself. "Ergh, I really want an exemption. Hopefully an offer will come to me soon in this game."

Wendy: _There have been exemption offers all over in this game so far. If only I could know where one would be hidden, I'd grab it like crazy!_

"So without an exemption, chances of me staying alive are seven out of eight," Wario concluded, feeling proud for his mathematical statement. "Hah! I got it all set." Yoshi snickered light-heartedly.

"What?" Wario snorted, turning to him. "Did I mess up?"

"Uh, yeah," Wendy spoke up. "You should have taken the exemption in the first place! Dummy."

"From what I eavesdropped," Yoshi piped up, pointing to McHallyboo's device. "Diddy got an exemption from the other game.

"Wha…oh, you are kidding me," Wendy said, rolling her eyes.

"So both he and the Mole are out of the running for execution," Yoshi confirmed for them, furrowing his eyebrows with thought. "And assuming that Diddy isn't the Mole, that makes it a…one out of six chance for us of dying." Wendy and Wario both contemplated the calculation.

"But, what if Diddy _is_ the Mole?" Wendy considered, still puzzled. "Then it's one out of seven, right?"

"Nah, well…nah, impossible," Yoshi said, convinced. "Diddy's not the Mole! I never went for him on the quizzes."

"Yeah, that helps so much," Wendy said sarcastically. "There are probably five others you didn't even go for."

"Gee, you're right," Yoshi realized. He sat down with awareness.

"Well, guess what?" Wario told them. "I've actually been splitting my answers on each quiz up till now. I go for my two biggest suspects each time."

"And you're telling us this, why?" Wendy asked him. "You can definitely never keep a secret."

"Cause it keeps me alive!" he stated, "And it's nothing to hide. Pfft, anyone can do it."

"But what if none of those people are correct?" Wendy questioned. "Then you're going to die soon!"

"Die?" Wario grumbled. "That's a harsh word."

"Well, 'execution' _does_ mean death," Wendy reasoned. "Wait, that word doesn't fit though. Why do we even use that word anyway! Who chose that word for us in the first place?!" She darted her eyes at McHallyboo accusingly.

* * *

The juncture at the watermelon hut was brief. Almost as soon as they had ended their mission, the five players at Gelato Beach headed back into their boat and towards the plaza, all without Luigi. Though enlightened by their visit with last year's unpredictable winner, they were still in the midst of their second game, determined for their own definite answer.

"Home to bananas, and home to us too, frankly," said McHallyboo, as the players toasted with their banana smoothies.

"I like the Banana Bar better than that durian shack," Wario said honestly, watching the arriving waiter greedily, "and at least I don't have to smash any durians anymore." The waiter placed a large banana cake pastry onto the center of the table, as the players commenced their dessert.

"So Wario, tell the rest of the players about your game in Ricco Harbor," the host spoke up. The five players from within the other mission listened to him intently.

"Basically a relay race to make a pointless sandwich in the end," Wario summed up quickly. The other players gave him looks of dissatisfaction.

"Okay, I'll do it," Wendy decided, clearing her voice. "So first, we arrived at the harbor. At first I was extremely ticked off at McHallyboo, but that's another story. You see, he asked for people who hated to work, and apparently we had to work in the game, you know? I didn't like it at all that he tricked us like that, making us believe we were doing something else, when we weren't! So then we got off the boat and had to walk towards this fountain in the middle of the harbor path---"

"Umm, I'll do it," Yoshi interrupted, as Wendy frowned. "The relay race had three legs, each one containing an ingredient that we needed at the end. I got the tomato by climbing down a really long cage, Wendy found a lettuce head in a submarine, and Wario had to Blooper surf his way to get the bacon. And I guess that was pretty much the game…oh wait! Wario was offered an exemption at the end if he threw away the money, but he said no---"

"Whoa wait, what?" Diddy interrupted, caught off guard. "Wario gave an exemption away?" The five players from the other mission turned to face Wario for confirmation.

"Yeah, big surprise," Wario mumbled. "So what? I didn't need it anyway. And I love money more than anything! I wouldn't just throw money away!"

"But that's not really you, is why we're surprised," Goombella said. "Even Diddy took an exemption."

"Hey, I didn't take it!" Diddy recorrected. "It was forced upon me and I had no choice. Or you could say it was accidental."

"So, that was the first mission," McHallyboo said to the players. "Diddy, would you care to explain what happened in the game you played?"

"Hah!" Diddy said, a grin appearing on his face. "I'd rather not. They can guess." Wendy stuck her tongue out at him, but then faced the host.

"We heard everything while on the boat coming back," Wendy told McHallyboo. "We know what the watermelon game was all about, thanks to your screen device and loud volume."

"But of course, you couldn't have gotten all details that way," McHallyboo said with uncertainty. Wendy, Yoshi, and Wario shook their heads, declining the offer for the other game's description.

"Well, if that's so, I'd like to conclude that, in total, you guys earned fifteen thousand coins!" McHallyboo stated aloud. "Ironically that's the total value that each of your games could have been worth in the first place. But congrats! Your pot stands high, and to make it even better, we have another mission tomorrow to boost your pot."

"One that we'll all participate in instead of being sequestered awkwardly?" Luvbi asked him. McHallyboo laughed, nodding with confirmation.

Vivian: _I feel sorry for the three people in the BLT game. They didn't get any info on the other mission, and if the Mole was in the Watermelon game, they'd be at a disadvantage._

* * *

Down at breakfast, Wendy and Luvbi were the first ones to sit at the table. Sitting down and getting their breakfast buffet, they gave each other glances of approval.

Wendy: _Luvbi really isn't my enemy. She was in Episode 1, but then it got better cause we were both stupid in the beginning. Well, I wasn't stupid at first but then I became stupid._

"More lyrics I suppose?" Luvbi noticed, seeing Wendy write in her journal. Wendy shook her head with a chuckle, still writing.

"I need notes on everyone and everything," Wendy told her. "These journals help more than I thought they would at first." She held hers up.

"Well, allow me to tell you more of what occurred yesterday, since you were too egotistical to admit you wanted to know more," Luvbi said out loud, as Wendy resisted glaring at her. "There were suspicious actions. Goombella told us she would refuse an exemption, which was fishy. Vivian seemed more tired than usual, and even rested in the hut during a large portion of the game." Wendy wrote the information down, not bothering to shorten the words into her own format.

"Bobbery caused mayhem with the bucket," Luvbi continued. "He caused the crack at the bottom of it. I didn't. It slowed us down."

"Hey guys!" Yoshi said, walking down from the staircase. "It's, umm…Luvbi and Wendy?" The two females laughed at his astounded face.

"Everything you saw before was an act, Yoshi," Wendy said reassuringly. As Yoshi seated himself for a plate of fruits, Wendy and Luvbi continued their information swapping.

"Okay, so Wario refused his exemption," Wendy began. "That was really out of character. Even I was surprised." Luvbi quickly jotted the notes into her own journal.

"Then Wario offered to decline it only if Wendy admitted that she was bad at Blooper surfing," Yoshi remembered, laughing and speaking up. "But Wendy was like, 'No, throw away the money! Take the exemption'!" As Yoshi chuckled even more, the other two became silent.

"So then Wendy got mad and almost caused---" He stopped at the sight of Wendy doing the traditional choking sign to him, her eyes showing a tint of fury. He gulped and looked down.

"Err, that's really it," Yoshi finished quickly, digging into his food. As Wendy slapped her forehead with exasperation, Luvbi turned to her.

"Hmm, I guess you do miss a lot when you're not playing in a game," Luvbi considered, "and when nobody says anything. But no worries. You're not a suspect of mine." Wendy's eyes widened.

"Really?" Wendy asked her. "Actually, I know it's good to be a suspect, but this game is just confusing."

"Yes," said Luvbi, keeping her voice low. "And if others happen to suspect you, you'll be knocking them out of the game." She tilted her head at the eating dinosaur, as Wendy nodded slowly. Luvbi got up from her chair and let out a soft laugh.

"Ah Wendy, you have a wonderful gift for story telling!" she said suddenly in a refreshed voice. "That was quite a secret you told me."

"My pleasure!" Wendy replied out loud. "It's always good to let out a secret or two when the pressure is too much." As they got up and left, Yoshi was left alone, baffled from their conversation.

Yoshi: _Girls are confusing._

* * *

"Monkey see, monkey don't see," Goombella repeated, waiting at the dock along with the other players. At last, Diddy showed up, wearing new summer attire and a pair of sunglasses.

"Well, about time!" Wario grumbled. "You took way too long to get here! I actually had to rush out of my room to arrive on time." He got aboard the boat and sat in the chair at the very front, ready to leave impatiently to their next mission location.

Wario:_ It bothers me that these missions always take place in the morning. Why can't we choose anything? We're practically slaves to this game._

"Dressed up for leisure?" Bobbery inquired, shaking his head at Diddy. "We're heading to yet another mission! You know we'll be working strenuously instead of relaxing."

Goombella: _Diddy with that exemption coin made him appear as if he was on drugs or something. Or at least under some influence, cause he was just giddy 24/7 holding that exemption._

"Well, I'm in a good mood," Diddy replied, grinning, his sunglasses reflecting a heavy amount of light towards the other players. "Let's go!" McHallyboo stepped aboard the boat.

"Good morning players!" the host said out loud. "We'll be heading off to your next location."

"Which is where?" Vivian asked out loud, looking at a map of the entire island that was on her seat. "Bianco Hills? Pianta Village?"

"Gelato beach!"

"All right!" Yoshi said enthusiastically. Goombella had her mouth open in non-amusement.

"What's wrong?" he asked her, confused.

"We were just there yesterday!" Goombella pointed out. McHallyboo turned the engine of their motor boat on and faced the players.

"Yeah, but three of you guys deserve to get a new perspective of things for volunteering," he said, smiling, "The other five of you? Not so much." The motor boat holding the eight remaining players left the dock, set off to go to their second, or technically third, mission of the episode.

* * *

Already slightly-familiar with their location, Wendy, Yoshi, and Wario were eager to jump off and explore Isle Delfino's icon beach location. The other five simply stepped off the boat, less enthusiastic than they were yesterday as they followed McHallyboo.

"Wow, a new scene indeed," Goombella joked. "But it's kinda nice here…okay, that wasn't here yesterday." She pointed to an object in the distance.

As they all positioned themselves at the small, outstretched piece of land that extended from the center of the main island, they couldn't help but notice the large wooden box that laid thirty feet ahead of them, quivering violently and inching closer with every one of its vibrations. The players stood where they were, well behind McHallyboo who was the only thing present between them and the nearly-alive wooden crate.

"Ready to meet the monster of Gelato beach?" McHallyboo said in a grand voice.

"Bring it, host!" Diddy shouted with a grin. The others stood anxiously as the front of the long crate fell open, the flap falling to the sand and exposing the creature that was positioned within it, a glass wall preventing it from fully escaping as it thrashed about even more. The players gasped at the sight of the Wiggler before them, as the animal stared back at the group of players, trapped, but enraged.

"Oh no…" Vivian said quietly, fearing the content of their next mission. The players laughed in a mixture of disbelief and uneasiness.

"Well, it would have been a surprise if Mr. Plumber didn't inadvertently give it away earlier," Bobbery murmured, turning to look at the hut on the other side of the beach.

"Thirty feet long, and not in a good mood," McHallyboo explained to them. "This is indeed the Wiggler of Gelato Beach, and he'll be the guest star of your next mission. Your next game will be called the Wiggler Cowardice Test." He moved from his position, revealing two imprints in the sand that resembled footprints.

"Oh dear," Luvbi couldn't help saying, already identifying their next game and its requirements.

"You'll be paired up in two's," McHallyboo continued. "While one of you will be out of danger, the other one of you will be doing the actual test of courage, standing on these foot placements. As the Wiggler charges towards you, you must jump out of the way just at the right time, and not be hit."

"What! No way!" Wario shouted, from among the other players' surprised reactions. "You can't make us do that! That's just crazy."

"This whole game is crazy enough!" Wendy said truthfully. McHallyboo pointed to two dark lines that pressed into the sand before them, one only a few feet away from where they were all standing, and the other a mere few feet behind the other. He walked to the line that was farther away, running his foot over the horizontal marking.

"Now, this is how you win money," he explained to them. "If you jump when the Wiggler reaches the line eight feet away from you, 3,000 coins will be added to the pot." He ran his foot over the line that was closer to where they were standing.

"This line is just four feet from the footprint marking," McHallyboo informed them, making the line even darker. "You jump when the Wiggler reaches this line, you will earn the full 5,000 coins for your pot." The players nodded, and then faced each other carefully: only four of them would be doing the main part of the mission.

"The other player will be at the beginning of our so-called runway," said McHallyboo, "and their role is just as important. You see, Wigglers are very sensitive creatures. Very vulnerable to mood swings, and can in fact have their temper changed by a simple picture." Two Nokis came into view, both holding large frames that each displayed a painting within.

"Player 2 will be asked a question," the host explained even more. "If they get it right, a painting of a sunset horizon will be held before the Wiggler before the glass barrier is released. On the contrary, if the player gets the question wrong, we'll hold a painting displaying a forest being cut down in front of the Wiggler before releasing it."

"Gee, wouldn't that just provoke it though?" Yoshi asked, his eyes wide.

"Exactly!" McHallyboo said. "While a Wiggler charging at normal velocity can go up to speeds of twenty miles per hour, a bad-tempered one can travel to a speed of thirty five. So whether you answer the question correctly or not will factor heavily into your chance of success."

"So basically it's like dodging a car that's going 35 miles per hour," Diddy said. McHallyboo nodded at the practical analogy, as Diddy sighed.

"Okay, we gotta decide this," Diddy started. "I'm willing---"

"First, let's just choose the four who are going to do the jumping part of this game," Goombella said to them. "Any volunteers?"

"Yeah, me," Diddy finished. "Because if anyone, I think I deserve to face a Wiggler more than any of you guys do. Heh, it's only fair." The players looked at him, surprised as a whole.

"Well, for once in this game you aren't being a monarch," Luvbi said to him, rather stunned. "Who else wants to go forth?"

"You, Luvbi!" Yoshi said suddenly. "You're good at predicting and all that, being an oracle and all." Luvbi looked at him, taken back.

"Well, though it has nothing to do with dodging an animal of potential danger…I'll do it," she decided.

Vivian: _I was just happy that people were volunteering to do the scary part of the test, instead of someone just choosing people. If I had to be placed in front of that Wiggler I'd literally collapse and faint on the spot._

"Count me in!" Bobbery said, almost proudly as he travelled to Diddy and Luvbi's side. With only one spot in remaining, all players turned to Wario and Yoshi.

"Hey, why me?" Wario complained. "Cause we're the only two guys left? Huh? Is that really it?"

"I'm not doing it," Wendy decided, holding her hands up. "I put forth Yoshi just because he's faced Wigglers before…and plus, Wario can never face a test of bravery."

"I can do it," Wario said, growling at her while Yoshi walked over to the team of three. "I can show you more bravery than you could ever imagine!" McHallyboo grinned and faced the players, who were split evenly into their diverse parts.

"Well, cowards," he ordered, facing the players who didn't volunteer, "Technically the four of you have already failed the Cowardice test, but rest assured, because your job is easy. Please wait over there." He pointed towards the direction of the Wiggler, to the safe spot on the sides of its crate where the two Noki painters were located. McHallyboo turned to the four remaining players behind him.

"You know, technically you get no award for being brave," he informed the four of them, "but it's always nice to volunteer, no? Every one of you deserves to get a new perspective on things, and in this case, a new look on fear!" He chuckled again and headed towards the other half of the group, while the four players remained in their position, nowhere near the mood for a chuckle and already predicting fatality in their role of the mission.

* * *

**The Wiggler Cowardice Test is to begin! Please list your top three suspects, for the next update will be the end of the episode. Who is the deceiver? ****And who will be going home next? Below is your third Final Destination clue:**

_CRANIUM_

**And now, I reveal to all of you what I've long been working on...**

**...the website for The Mole: Saboteur's Island! Heh, it's located right at the bottom of my profile, and though it's not fully complete with the Player Bios and Missions, it is for the most part. Enjoy for now, and thanks to all of you! =)**


	13. A Courageous End

**Episode 3**_** (Final Part)**_

The four players who volunteered for the harder latter of the job stood nervously near the shore, staying away from the path of the Wiggler's runway. Bobbery examined with his eyes the line of path from the Wiggler's position to the footprint markings in the sand.

"Well, speaking if we get hit," he speculated, seeing how close the footprint marking were to the ocean shore, "we'll be thrown right into the water. Could be worse."

"Oh yes, and the impact from getting hit by such an animal would all get relieved with a touch of ocean water," Luvbi said in an absentminded, exaggerated voice. "No. I myself will be jumping out of the way in time as soon as it begins to charge."

Luvbi: _This was just a terrible game. I look back at the Watermelon mission and think how much easier and less stressful that game was. Things can transform after a simple day, even on the same location._

"But wait, doesn't the Wiggler have to touch one of the lines in order for us to win money?" Yoshi asked. Luvbi nodded, much to Diddy's disagreement.

"Come on, all of us have to get at least _some_ money," Diddy told her. "Look how far away the 3,000 coin line is from the footprints! This will be easy sneezey."

"If only we can find a way to calm our reflexes," said Yoshi, stretching down to touch the tops of his boots, and then bending over backwards. "I don't want to jump too soon. That would ruin it."

"Well, this game can't be impossible to win," said Diddy. "Otherwise it'd be corrupt. We've earned money in every game so far up to this point."

"Well, safety isn't exactly something I'm going to give up," Luvbi replied flatly, "Even if it involves money." McHallyboo walked up to their group, keeping a well-distance away from the Wiggler's potential path behind them.

"Well, the other four are all settled, so we can start," the host informed them. "You guys will be doing your jumps one by one, and will have another player as your partner." He pointed over to the others resting besides the Wiggler crate.

"Before the Wiggler charges, it depends on them to answer a question in order to determine its speed. If they get the question correct, rest is assured by a little. If they get it wrong, your jump will obviously be much harder. Of course, if you get hit by the Wiggler, no money will be earned."

"Do we get to choose our partners?" Diddy asked.

"Actually, they chose already," McHallyboo said. "Diddy, your partner is Vivian, Yoshi, your partner is Goombella, Bobbery has Wendy, and Luvbi, you have Wario."

"Ah, fine choice for me," Luvbi said with sarcasm.

Bobbery: _Wendy's level of smartness combined with me being the oldest person doesn't exactly combine to the best result, especially when there's danger lurking somewhere in the game._

"Yes, agreed," Bobbery said in an equal voice. Yoshi and Diddy looked somewhat relieved.

"So, let us begin our first jump of the Wiggler Cowardice test!" the host began. "Who wants start the game?" The four volunteers stood unmoving, waiting for yet another one of them to volunteer a second time.

"Okay, let me," said Yoshi, his voice showing confidence. "I have Goombella. I know she's smart. She must get her question correct."

"I would think the same thing with Goombella," Luvbi said to him, "But are you sure?" As Yoshi nodded, Luvbi sighed with heavy relief and nodded with agreement, as the other three were pulled away from the end of the beach.

Yoshi was brought to the Wiggler's end of the path upon the extended piece of land, as his feet were put onto the footprint markings accordingly, into proper position. He looked forwards at the creature before him blocked by a single layer of glass, as he slowly closed his eyes with fear.

Yoshi: _I felt nice volunteering first, but in truth I didn't like it. I know Goombella's smart, but I was still scared._

* * *

Goombella watched Yoshi uneasily on the other side of the beach, who was still keeping his eyes temporarily closed and waiting for the Wiggler's charge to occur. She looked at the host next to her.

"Looks like he's saying a prayer," she managed to laugh.

"I wouldn't be surprised if he was," the host said, "After all, it all depends on you. You answer this question correctly, it'll be easy for him. If you get it wrong, you'll be putting him to a new level of stress." McHallyboo took out his question card.

Goombella: _It was totally a worst-case scenario, having someone else's fate lying in your hands._ _I didn't know how it would result._

"Okay, this is your question," McHallyboo said out loud. "Yoshi is staying in a room as the same hotel as you. What is his room number?" Goombella immediately began thinking, her mind putting the question together as images of the hotel hallway flashed into her head.

"I'm in 104," she said inaudibly, counting the number of doors, "and Wario is by himself, next door on my right, which is 105…it's 103."

"Final answer?" McHallyboo said, looking at the card again.

"Room 103 is Yoshi's room," she confirmed.

"Correct! Expose the peaceful painting!" As two Nokis passed the view of the Wiggler at a slow pace and holding the painting, the animal seemed to noticeably get less tense, its feet becoming slower but still pounding and wanting to escape its prison. The glass barrier was lifted up, as the creature began to head forwards at a heavy rate, charging directly towards the individual stationary in front of him.

"Yoshi, open your eyes!" Goombella cried, as Yoshi did, his head held high as he studied the charging Wiggler, breathing heavily with fear. As the animal headed even closer to him, the other players apprehensively watched as only a few feet lay between the charging animal and the awaiting player.

Yoshi jumped from his footprint markings, at the same time letting out a yelp as he fell upon the sand besides him roughly. A second later the Wiggler came charging over the exact same spot he had been a moment ago, decreasing its speed as it came in contact with the sea water, circling back around back to where it had started. Yoshi was safe.

"5,000 coin line!" McHallyboo confirmed, getting the results from a nearby producer who recorded the scene in slow-motion. "The Wiggler touched the five thousand coin mark!"

Simultaneously, all players began to cheer, as Yoshi got up from the sand, shaken but overjoyed. However, one player simply looked at Yoshi, a look of discontentment displayed on their face as the full money was awarded.

Yoshi: _I knew I could do it! And I knew Goombella could do it too._ _I was happy for both of us, because when it comes to teamwork, no one can do it better but us two…or at least I think_.

"All right, Yoshi!" Diddy exclaimed, as the crowd around the flattered Yoshi began to slowly disappear. Diddy had already volunteered to go next, and as Vivian was brought over to her own position, Diddy went up to him in hopes of advice.

"Count a full second before you actually plan to jump," Yoshi told him, as he listened intently. "It comes slower than you actually think. And also, plant your feet into the foot sand markings as much as possible, to keep a jumping posture. Then you can just jump at the exact moment you want to. And don't be scared!"

"Got it," Diddy nodded, heading to his proper feet placing as his feet were placed into each oval. As McHallyboo walked over towards his partner, Diddy looked directly at the Wiggler, giving it an enemy glare that made Vivian feel a small sense of relief.

"Do you think he'll do as well as Yoshi?" McHallyboo asked her. Vivian hesitated.

"Well, monkeys are very nimble, right?" she said. "I think he might. I'm not sure." The host shrugged.

"Well, we'll see how he does, but it depends on you too," he continued. "Answer this question correct, it'll be easy. Answer it wrong, and it'll be troublesome for him." He took out his question card, as Vivian looked at it uncertainly.

"Diddy's team arrived to the main part of the beach when during Bag Savers?" read the host. "First, second, or third?" Vivian opened her mouth, trying to remember the contents of the mission from the first episode.

"Umm, I know he wasn't swimming," she said with certainty, "and I know that I arrived last at the beach, so he can't be third…it's either first or second." She contemplated, remembering that Diddy had been lobster fishing on the same beach as the swimmers during the mission.

"First?" she said, hoping her answer was correct.

"Correct! Show the good painting!" Like before, the two Nokis displayed the painting to the Wiggler, as it calmed down the slightest bit, ready to get out. The glass panel was lifted, as the animal began to charge towards the waiting player.

"Go Diddy!" Yoshi shouted, jumping with anticipation. The others began to cheer too, as Diddy sunk his feet deeper into the sand, waiting for the speeding Wiggler to get closer to where he was standing.

"I got this," he hissed, getting into his best stance, one that served as inadequate.

As the Wiggler sped rapidly towards the end of the beach, it was only within seconds that the players realized that Diddy did not jump out in time. On impact with the Wiggler's force, Diddy's body was thrown fifteen feet into the air, almost as if he was catapulted backwards as it fell upon the beach water with a weighty splash that made the others wince with horror. Vivian covered her mouth with dread and looked away.

Though they had won no money, it was the least of the concerns of the other players.

* * *

A medical crew arrived swiftly.

"Is he all right?" Vivian asked with dismay. Noticeably on Diddy's right shoulder was a large bruise, and as the doctor supplied him with ice, it became apparent to the players and the host that he was all right, or at least not heavily injured in a way that would prevent him from continuing on as a player.

Diddy: _Before I knew it would happen, the Wiggler just hit right into me. I was still conscious as I flew into the air, and the next thing I knew I was already falling towards the water. And man, did that hurt! Hitting the water actually hurt more than the Wiggler itself._

"It's not your fault," Goombella said, seeing Vivian's guilty look. "You even got your question correct!"

"Yeah, I guess," Vivian said back. "It was just that he was my partner. Maybe I could have helped more." Goombella shook her head and smiled.

"Well, as Diddy recovers, we must continue on," said McHallyboo, seeing the Wiggler back in its position in the exposed crate. "Who will be the next to jump?"

Luvbi:_ We just witnessed someone get injured by the Wiggler's impact, and they still continue the game?_

"Fine, let's commence," Luvbi spoke up. She faced Bobbery.

"The order we go in at this point doesn't matter to me," the admiral said to her. "If you want to get it over first, be my guest. Going last is worst in my opinion."

"In that case," Luvbi said with a sigh, "I'll be going." She was brought over to the footprint placements by one of the producers, her mind focused on the Wiggler standing before her as she was left alone on the spot. The third round was soon to begin, as Wario was brought besides McHallyboo, the question of fate in his hand.

Wario: _All the pressure was on me, and from the very beginning I wanted to be a jumper. It was a shame to be answering a question during that game, or at least to me it was!_

"Wario, you know the drill," the host told him. "If you get this question correct, the Wiggler will go slow. If you get it wrong though, the Wiggler will charge rapidly at Luvbi."

"Oh boy," Wario said with a grunt. "What if I can't answer it? Can I still cause it to go slow somehow?"

"I wouldn't suppose so," the host replied. "But here is your question, Wario: Name two of Luvbi's listed occupations." Wario immediately frowned, as he held one finger up.

"I know she's listed as an oracle," he said to himself, then put up his second finger immediately. "She's also a…" He studied Luvbi carefully, trying to find a second answer to his question.

"Argh…a chef?" he answered with a heavy shrug. The host looked at his card and shook his head.

"No, I'm afraid that is wrong," said McHallyboo. "The correct answer was a harpist."

"Well, culinary artist and musician artist," he muttered with a shake of his head. "Almost the same." As the two Nokis picked up a different painting and walked across the view of the Wiggler, it took the creature only a second to recognize the contents of the picture, as its mood changed dramatically. Turning a shade of red in almost an instant, the giant caterpillar began to steam profusely, whacking at the glass panel in front of him and rolling furiously within its crate. With wide eyes, Luvbi walked off from her footprint placements, shaking her head.

"Wait, go back!" Wario shouted to her. "What are you doing?"

"No," Luvbi replied, as the two Nokis immediately tried to calm the Wiggler back down. "I quit. I'm not doing this. I'm not insane enough to do it either." As the round was forfeited, the players were left with yet another round of no money.

Diddy: _She shouldn't have quit. She could have at least given it an attempt to earn some money for the team, but instead she just walked off from the mission without even trying._

Wendy: _Usually I would have been mad at Luvbi, but I was a little understanding of why she did what she did._ _No way would I face against a charging Wiggler at its full speed._

"Well Luvbi, any reason for why you quit?" McHallyboo asked her, as Bobbery was brought to the same position the three previous players had been forced upon.

"Simple," she said to him. "I saw Diddy get hit by a light charge. If anything, a heavier charge has bigger consequences, and I wasn't going to kill myself."

"Well, maybe an attempt would have helped us," Diddy snapped from the ambulance tent, a few feet away from her.

"I wouldn't want to end up like you," Luvbi said in defense.

Yoshi: _While everyone thought Luvbi was fishy for quitting, I just thought it was fishy that Wario thought Luvbi was a chef. She doesn't look like a chef at all._

Wario: _I should have been a jumper in the first place. I couldn't even care less whether Luvbi was a harpist or a chef, or whatever. _

Bobbery faced the Wiggler, as it faced right back at him in the eye.

"Well, I'm not exactly the one to quit," Bobbery spoke out loud from the footprint placements, mostly to himself. "I've faced worse things at sea than moody caterpillars." Wendy, the final question answerer, was brought besides McHallyboo as the Wiggler got ready for its final release

"Okay, tell me the question," Wendy said, hoping for the best. Bobbery too was hoping for the best result, as he stood at the other side of the beach, his feet in its proper placements.

Wendy: _I felt really smart from the BLT game the other day, but I wasn't sure whether that was only temporary or not._ _I really wanted to get the question correct for the team._

"Wendy Koopa, here is your question," McHallyboo said, looking directly at the final card. "What is Bobbery's last name?" Wendy put her finger up to her chin, then furrowed her eyebrows.

"It was…Keelers!" she said, as McHallyboo looked at his card. "Right?"

"Is that your final answer?" he asked her.

"I'm pretty sure it's Keelers," she repeated. As McHallyboo nodded, Wendy shouted with relief.

"Correct!" said McHallyboo. "Release the Wiggler!" A painting was brought upon the Wiggler for the fourth time, as it gradually became more tranquil, yet still more irate than usual from its previous mishap. As the glass panel was released, the caterpillar stormed down the runway and towards Bobbery.

"Come on, Bobbery!" Wendy cried, stepping closer towards the shore in his direction. As the Wiggler approached Bobbery, the player leaped off from the footprint placements, landing on the sand besides him and still keeping himself on his own feet. As the Wiggler passed him though, the force of the created wind knocked Bobbery down to the sandy floor, making Wendy laugh with relief as she ran over to his spot.

"Nice jump!" she complimented, helping the elderly player up. "You actually earned us money!" As the Wiggler was brought around in a circle and back to its crate, McHallyboo walked up to the final pair with the results of their fourth jump. The remaining six players as well came to their current position, Diddy limping over to hear the final conclusions of their third episode.

"Through our special camera, we saw that you, Bobbery, missed the 5,000 coin line by merely inches when you jumped," McHallyboo informed them. Bobbery murmured to himself with personal disfavor.

"But you do win 3,000 coins since the Wiggler touched the initial line," continued McHallyboo. "And added with the 5,000 coins earned from Yoshi's jump, you won 8,000 coins out of the potential 20,000. Could have been better, but still could have been worse, so well done!" As half of the players clapped at their success, the other latter felt a wave of failure from the mission they had just played.

**Team Pot**

_77,000 coins_

"A value of high luck," Luvbi noticed.

Vivian: _This whole episode I felt was drawn out longer than any other before. Maybe it was because we had three games instead of two, or possibly it's because the games are getting much more difficult for us. But either way, it didn't appeal to me at all._

"McHallyboo, is the execution tonight?" Vivian asked him. The host faced her with a nod.

"It'll be tonight, and to make things equal, we'll be heading to Ricco Harbor for that very occasion," McHallyboo said, facing the players. "Good luck. The Mole is soon to take a next player."

* * *

It was dinner before the execution. To some of their displeasure, it was back at the Durian Café. But this time around, things were different as McHallyboo decided to join into the players' regular conversation.

"So, you guys have been here for a full week!" the host realized.

"Yeah, and it's shocking that it's only Episode 3," Wario said to him. "So what?" McHallyboo shrugged.

"You're probably all missing home," he told them, as each of their faces changed immediately. A full week had passed quicker than any of them had speculated since the beginning of the game. Having been absorbed into another world, the outside world had almost become non-existent to them.

"There must be someone you're all missing," the host continued. Diddy raised his hand first, as everyone turned to him.

"Dixie didn't even want me to be on this show," he said to them. "But I'm all right for now." The players kept on looking at him, as he groaned.

"Yes, and I miss her too," he finished, as the others smiled. Yoshi was the next in line, who shrugged.

"Err, Birdo, I guess," he said, looking down at his plate. "I kinda forgot to say goodbye to her before leaving. I've always wanted to call her since the first day."

Goombella:_ You realize that family and loved ones take priority in your life. So basically, McHallyboo was trying to make us guilty for joining the game in the first place. He's such a host._

"Well, I do come from far away, so all of this is just terribly unfamiliar," Luvbi spoke up from the other side of the table. "But the fact that I'm so far away from family makes up most of that feeling."

"Ugh, my dad," Wendy said, causing the other players to laugh. "Maybe it's because he does _everything_ for me, and I'm actually forced to do the work here."

"Though you have become a lot more independent without him," Bobbery commented. Wendy nodded with realization.

"But of course, this is all for next episode," McHallyboo finished, "and one of you is guaranteed to not make it there. But before any of you leave the game for good, we'll be taking a final trip to Ricco Harbor. So, pack your bags in the hotel, and bring your belongings. We'll be leaving nine o'clock at night, sharp."

* * *

As the moon shone brightly, it was latest time that the players had ever departed from Isle Delfino. Each of them holding their own bags, they separately boarded the boat, one that had its own compartments and was as large as the boat in Episode 2 which had carried the ninety-four passengers to their island on the party.

Settling in the main lobby-like room of the ship, the players were brought to the upstairs deck one by one to take their ten question quiz about the Mole. The player who ended up scoring the lowest on the quiz would be eliminated from the game, and the victim at the end of the boat ride.

Goombella was the first upstairs, putting herself in the seat that was before the computer. Eyeing the quiz, she began with the first question.

_**1. The Mole is:**_

_**-Male**_

_**-Female**_

Goombella: _The Mole wouldn't worry about giving away an exemption, because they would survive until the end. Maybe Wario refused his exemption because he knew that he would be making it to the next round, and wasn't worried at all. It's very unlikely for someone like Wario to just give away an exemption like that, since the money wasn't even guaranteed to him._

Yoshi arrived next upstairs, sitting down to take his quiz.

_**2. The Mole was sequestered to which location at the beginning of Episode 3?**_

_**-Ricco Harbor**_

_**-Gelato Beach**_

Yoshi: _In the BLT game, Wendy didn't hurry up at all and then took her time at the worst places. Then towards the end, she almost caused Wario to throw the exemption for all of us. Her overall performance in that game was just fishy._

Wendy walked up next and sat down, reading each question.

_**3. The Mole's role in their first mission involved what food?**_

_**-Watermelons**_

_**-Tomatoes**_

_**-Lettuce Heads**_

_**-Bacon**_

Wendy: _Yoshi screwed up our first game completely from all the tomatoes he destroyed. It was sabotage because in the end, we ended up losing half of the money we won, when we could have won a lot more than just 8,000 coins._

Diddy moved his mouse over to the fourth question.

_**4. What role did the Mole have during Cocomero Corretto? **_

_**-Italian Buff**_

_**-Melon Roller**_

_**-Pier Person**_

_**-None**_

Diddy: _Though Vivian did seem a bit genuine about being tired, for the most part it all seemed like a clever act, trying to slow us down in certain places. There were certain times where I would look at Vivian while we were both pushing the watermelon, and she would appear less exhausted than I was. It was very odd._

As Diddy sat down at the Lobby table, Luvbi immediately headed towards the top deck to take her quiz.

_**5. The Mole arrived when to the boat leaving to Gelato Beach on the second day?**_

_**-In the first half of players**_

_**-The second half of players**_

Luvbi: _Bobbery is just the most respected player out there. I wouldn't be surprised if he was the Mole. During the first game, he even admitted to putting a crack in the bucket, which as the Mole would be great, admitting your own intentional mistakes. As much as I like him, he could be it._

Vivian: _It's kinda confusing trying to find out who the Mole is. What I thought was suspicious was when Diddy arrived last to the boat in the morning to Gelato Beach. Was he getting secret info as the Mole? Anything seems possible in this game, if you're playing it._

_**6. During the Wiggler Cowardice Test, who was the Mole paired up with?**_

_**-Goombella**_

_**-Yoshi**_

_**-Vivian**_

_**-Diddy**_

_**-Wario**_

_**-Luvbi**_

_**-Wendy**_

_**-Bobbery**_

Diddy: _I wish Luigi had given us more advice when we saw him…well, at least I'm surviving an extra round._

_**7. What was the Mole's role in the Wiggler Cowardice Test?**_

_**-A Jumper**_

_**-A Coward**_

Bobbery: _It's hard to decide which was more suspicious and more likely the act of the Mole: Luvbi refusing to jump at all, or Wario blatantly answering a question wrong which resulted in the Wiggler getting mad. Luvbi is a mysterious individual at all times. Wario is more of the player who you think is just a babbling idiot, but could well possibly be the Mole._

_**8. How much money did the Mole's pair win in their jump?**_

_**-3,000 coins**_

_**-5,000 coins**_

_**-No money**_

_**9. Did the Mole mention one of their loved ones at the dinner table before their execution? **_

_**-Yes**_

_**-No**_

Wario: _There are some people I think are the most suspicious…Vivian, and Goombella for the most part. For the males, I think Diddy and Yoshi. A little bit of Luvbi and Wendy too and maybe also Bobbery if you look at it. There are only so few people to pick from._

_**10. Who is the Mole?**_

_**-Diddy**_

_**-Wario**_

_**-Vivian**_

_**-Luvbi**_

_**-Bobbery**_

_**-Yoshi**_

_**-Wendy**_

_**-Goombella**_

* * *

The boat had docked at the farthest wooden platform from Ricco Harbor: the same one Wario had used the day before in his attempts to Blooper surf. Getting off the boat, they were escorted by McHallyboo halfway across the enormous port, those whose first time it was at the location getting their first view of the contraptions and construction that existed in the harbor. They all stopped within close view of the Ricco Tower, as they saw eight chairs that were situated into two rows before it.

"Well, this would be a nasty execution," Goombella said, sitting in the back row and looking behind her back, as the rest of the players took their seats as well. The back legs of her chair were situated right at the edge of the stage, and inches from a plummet into the water. McHallyboo and the television stood directly under a column-like structure in front of the players, as a shadow from the tower cast over them, the light from the TV becoming intensified

"Welcome, players, to your third execution," announced McHallyboo. "We're here in Ricco Harbor, in the presence of the grand Ricco Tower. What lies inside this very tower is a mystery." The players all looked up at the towering structure, seeing a barred entrance at the very top.

"But what's also a mystery are two things," he continued. "The Mole's identity, and who will be executed tonight. Fortunately, one of those mysteries will be answered in soon time." He faced the television screen.

"I'll begin entering your names into the computer. If your screen turns green, when your name is entered, you are declared safe, and you remain. If it turns red, you are executed, and you must leave the game immediately. Diddy, may I please have your coin?" The monkey smiled, standing up from the back of the chairs and walking over to the host's position. He reached into his pockets, still smiling as he dug both his hands into his jeans. His smile vanished.

"Wait, what?" he exclaimed, turning his pockets inside-out. "Where's my coin? I had it!" The other seven players all exchanged glances, then faced front. Luvbi momentarily looked down before facing the front as well.

"You lost your coin?" Wendy asked with disbelief. "Are you out of your mind?"

"McHallyboo, I had it on the boat," Diddy declared, holding up his hand. "No lie. I have an exemption anyway and you can't do anything about it."

"Well, if you fail to show me the coin, I'm afraid you'll still be eligible for exe-"

"What!" Diddy shouted. "No, I had it! I had it in my pocket, and in my hands, and in my possession. You ever granted it to me at Gelato Beach!" The players were perplexed, as Diddy thoroughly search his pockets even more.

Bobbery: _Diddy's coin vanishes, and we all know that something happened. We know that he didn't just throw it away or lose it. Why, even a player without any sense could determine that someone stole it._

"No, this can't be happening," Diddy said with defeat. Directed by McHallyboo, he returned back to his usual seat among the others, feeling crushed.

"Diddy, if you would like, we can begin the execution in your name," the host offered. Diddy lifted one of his arms in the air in his weak way of giving consent.

Diddy: _That coin was mine. Whoever took it was just unfair and wrong. They shouldn't even be allowed to devise such a plan in the first place. That exemption sealed my safety, and now it was all gone._

* * *

**(Note: If you want to try this execution "Live", visit the website! Just make sure not to scroll down or visit any other page on the site besides, "Executions", or it may be spoiled. Be sure to read it afterwards too traditionally, aheh)**

* * *

"Then let us begin," said McHallyboo, entering Diddy's name letter by letter. "Diddy." Diddy faced the screen, his head lower than ever as the host pressed 'Enter'.

**D-I-D-D-Y**

******...**

**...**

**...**

**...**

**GREEN**

He sat back in his chair with full relief, then faced the ground slowly. He let out a small laugh.

"Well, that was a lot of unneeded fuss," Goombella commented, shaking her head with amusement. The execution went on, as the remaining players waited for their results. A third that night would be heading home.

"Vivian," McHallyboo called next. He slowly typed her name into the computer, as she looked nervously, biting her lips and waiting for the result of her name.

**V-I-V-I-A-N**

******...**

**...**

**...**

**...**

**GREEN**

She sighed heavily, relief going over her as her shoulders dropped. McHallyboo turned to face Luvbi, looking at her with a knowing face. Luvbi faced back at him.

Luvbi: _I had to go with my plan and instincts, so I stole Diddy's exemption coin while we were on the boat. Instead of keeping it though, I just tossed it into the sea._

"Luvbi," the host said. She faced forwards, trying to hide her uneasiness as the host typed her name into the screen.

**L-U-V-B-I**

******...**

**...**

**...**

**...**

**G****REEN**

Luvbi sighed swiftly and closed her eyes, then opened them back immediately. McHallyboo pointed at Yoshi.

"Yoshi," said the host. Yoshi held his head up high, anxiously watching as his name got typed into the screen. The host then pressed 'Enter'.

**Y-O-S-H-I**

******...**

**...**

**...**

**...**

**GREEN**

He bowed his head down, relieved but happy. McHallyboo turned to face Bobbery next.

"Bobbery," the host said. The Bob-omb turned to face McHallyboo, who began entering his name into the computer. With some apprehension, he furrowed his eyebrows and faced the letters that spelled his name.

**B-O-B-B-E-R-Y**

******...**

**...**

**...**

**...**

**GREEN**

He let out a heavy breath, at the same time shaking his head to clear his thoughts. The host turned to look at Goombella.

"Goombella," said the host. She watched her name get typed into the screen, a look of uncertainty displayed on her face. With all letters in, McHallyboo pressed the 'Enter' button.

**G-O-O-M-B-E-L-L-A**

******...**

**...**

**...**

**...**

**GREEN**

Goombella opened her mouth with surprise, then sighed with a smile of relief. McHallyboo paused for a second: there were two players remaining.

"Who would like to go first?" the host asked. As Wario sat motionless in fear, Wendy looked at her surroundings. She raised her hand with a sense of courage.

"I will," she decided, keeping her hand up.

"Wendy," said McHallyboo. Wendy nodded, looking at the screen as her name was typed in by the host, letter by letter. It was the final declaration for that night, on who would be heading home.

**W-E-N-D-Y**

******...**

**...**

**...**

**...**

**RED**

"Oh, I knew it," she said, her voice sounding less irate than usual.

"I am sorry, Wendy," McHallyboo said, getting up from his seat and casting his own shadow. "You have been executed." Wario let out an inappropriate sigh of relief as Wendy got up from her seat and followed McHallyboo, back towards the dock of Ricco Harbor. The television, however, continued.

**W-A-R-I-O**

...

**GREEN**

"Heh, I made it!" Wario hollered, adjusting the cap, as the screen flashed another shade in the color of green, in counting of Wario.

"Wasn't it obvious?" Vivian said, looking at the unneeded monitor color. They watched Wendy as she walked away from the others, in the opposite direction of the towering Ricco Tower.

* * *

"Oh, it was just awesome!" Wendy admitted, as they walked towards the awaiting boat. "There were some things in this game I really hated at first, but in all it was just so much fun."

"Any examples of the things your disfavored?" the host asked her. Wendy pondered a bit, then laughed out loud.

"Well, when I had to swim during that second game," she recalled, shivering at the memory. "Ugh, my clothes even got sand in it! But I actually enjoyed it, believe it or not McHallyboo."

* * *

"Wendy had such a distinct way of playing the game, which I liked," Goombella said out loud. "The money really wasn't her concern, and she always gave us a good laugh, no matter what mission."

_(Wendy is seen chasing Diddy around the shore of the beach during the Bag Savers game, to the amusement of the others)_

"She was the heaviest complainer I've witnessed by entire life," Luvbi couldn't help saying, as the other players chuckled at the truth, "but because of that, we will definitely remember her in a way no less than pleasant." The rest of the players nodded in agreement.

"Knowing also that she was genuine in the BLT game makes me really happy too," Yoshi spoke up. "It was fun playing that game with her, because she was actually trying her best in it."

_Flashback __**Wendy:**__"Keep going Yoshi!" (Wendy cheers from below as Yoshi climbs down the length of the cage)_

"She had indeed changed," Bobbery said with a nod. "From when she first stepped onto that island in the beginning to when she faced that red screen. The game benefitted her greatly on her behalf."

* * *

"Wendy, a great pleasure to have you," McHallyboo told her, as Wendy shook the host's hand back heavily with gratitude.

"Thanks so much for having me!" she said, waving behind her as she entered the door of the boat. The doors of the boat closed, as it finally headed to a direction other than Delfino Plaza. Nodding with satisfaction to herself, Wendy was brought to the Delfino Airstrip, the bag in her possession symbolizing her as the third victim of the game.

The saboteur had faced a green screen that night, symbolizing them as the Mole.

* * *

_On the next episode of The Mole: Saboteur's Island:_

The players take part in a game that'll send through a mixture of fear and fun, while two of them must travel the area in a rare moment of relaxation.

Luvbi: _I wouldn't exactly call this relaxing, but the award seems nice enough._

The players also have their gut instincts tested, and their privacy invaded.

Diddy: _What is this? I'd rather have it burned than play this game!_

And, the episode ends with a twist that'll put one of them to shame. What will the Mole do next episode as the vacation of sabotage continues?

* * *

**So a third is gone! Episode 4 holds more for the Mole, but for now, the victim was Wendy O. Koopa.**

**Hopefully your Mole radars are doing good, and catching all tidbits of information that points to who is, and even who isn't the Mole. I thank you all! The website has been updated with all character bios and some other updates. **

**(I apologize for the odd spacings between each player bio/picture...the site is being rather retarded, heh, but I'll fix it next update for sure).**

**Cheers, and stay tuned!**


	14. Ride to Victory

**Hey guys, just wanted to say that my trip to Disney World actually, and suddenly, became tomorrow…so gah, terrible timing! This chapter is the shortest for the record by a longshot, due to the curtailment that I have to perform. Sorry, but please enjoy none the less!**

* * *

**Episode 4**

_In the events of just last night, a leaving player marked our third execution of the game. At the end of our longest execution ceremony to date, it was Wendy who faced the red screen and had to go. She was the most thunderous player among the other players, never being afraid to stand up against anyone and always having the will to speak her mind whenever she wanted. But now that she's gone, a lucky number of seven appears. But in actuality, it's only six who truly remain: six players, and one Mole._

* * *

**Diddy**

_Surname__:_ Kong

_Birthday__:_ October 21

_Occupation__:_ Competitive Kart Racer

**Goombella**

_Surname: _Frankster

_Birthday: _April 16

_Occupation:_ Archeologist

**Yoshi**

_Surname: _Dino

_Birthday: _April 13

_Occupation: _Fruiterer/Waiter

**Bobbery**

_Surname:_ Keelers

_Birthday:_ August 17

_Occupation:_ Admiral

**Luvbi**

_Surname:_Nimbis

_Birthday:_May 5

_Occupation:_Harpist/Oracle

**Wario**

_Surname:_ Garlimo

_Birthday:_ September 29

_Occupation:_ Moneylender/Explorer

**Vivian**

_Surname:_ Shadens

_Birthday: _October 4

_Occupation:_ Visual Display Artist

* * *

Wario: _I'm very shocked that Wendy had to go…I didn't show it during the execution though, cause in this game, it's good to hide your feelings at all times._

Luvbi: _A lot of people suspect me as the Mole…even Luigi did a while back. At first it wasn't my plan, but I guess I can adopt it for now._

Yoshi: _I don't think Bobbery likes me anymore, because we always end up on different sides of the games and never talk to each other. He kinda drifted away._

Goombella: _Diddy and I are maintaining our little coalition up to this point. I don't think he's the Mole, and I hope he doesn't think that, well, I'm the Mole either._

Bobbery: _I've decided that at this point in the game, I need to watch out for myself. When an exemption comes, I must grab it. When someone suspects me as the Mole, I play along with it._

Vivian: _I tend to get really confused when people suspect me as the Mole. I overheard some of the others mention my name as a suspect, and it perplexes me so much. It also makes me think on why they would say that._

Diddy:_ This is one heck of a paradise vacation, but so far I'm kinda loving it!_

* * *

With no means of transportation back to Delfino Plaza due to Wendy having taken their only boat, the players had to settle into the public homes along Ricco Harbor for the night. A terrible stench woke each of them up at 8 o'clock in the morning, as the port got ready for its industrialized business.

"Oh no," Vivian said with dismay, holding her nose. Luvbi exited too, her face twisted with disfavor. Goombella came out behind them from the building they had slept over in, coughing and letting out a laugh.

Goombella: _The smell of fish on a harbor is just one of the worst ways to start your day. I was hoping we were getting out of here._

"What is that smell?" Diddy exclaimed, running out of his own house by the edge of the harbor. Yoshi spotted a large canister with a fruit symbol displayed on it.

"Gah, I need that!" he wheezed. Wario exited next, scrunching his nose in disfavor and waving his hat amuck.

"Can't they do something about this?" Wario hollered.

"No actually, it's quite the natural aura," Bobbery said, standing besides him, being the only one daring to take a full sniff. "These Piantas have become so accustomed to the smell because the animals here are so indigenous to them, that the odor has become neutralized. It's the same with me, I suppose." Bobbery immediately got simultaneous looks of oddity.

"Morning, players," said McHallyboo, not appearing to be affected by the smell at all, and wearing a thinner jacket than his usual blue, thick-sized coat. "I'm glad you've all waken up in time. We'll be heading off to a new location for your next mission."

"Boo-yah!" Wario shouted. "I'm out of here! You can't let me play a game here again."

"You'll be playing much more games in the future, mister Wario," the host said. "But let's get ready to depart. I'll meet you at the dock in one hour."

"And we're going…where?" Vivian asked the host curiously. "Sorry, but I'm just always anxious on where we're going next."

"Why, Pinna Park," the host told them. The seven players were elated, or at least those who knew the actual location they were headed to next. The host cleared his throat.

"Now, before we arrive to the amusement park, your roles must be decided," the host informed them, "and we'll do it right here. Unanimously, choose two players who know the location of Pinna Park the best." Diddy immediately jumped up.

"Yes, that'd be Yoshi," he said, almost laughing.

Bobbery: _I already predicted that not only would Diddy assign the parts for the umpteenth time, but once again, arguments would appear._

"Eh, I was mostly in an egg in Pinna Park," Yoshi pointed out, "but okay!"

"Wait Diddy, you can't be doing this," Goombella said flatly, "Or at least not again. Hold it. Any suggestions, guys?"

"But Yoshi was actually found on Pinna Park!" Diddy stated. "And if anyone has the guts to disagree with me, then tell me." All the other six players couldn't say anything else, finally realized Diddy's rationality. Diddy made a triumphant face.

"Umm, okay," Vivian said with agreement. "Just don't pick me. I can't navigate at all, especially in a place I've never heard about before."

"Yoshi, and…we need one more," the host said to them. Wario shrugged, pointing to Luvbi.

"Wait, what is this nonsense?" she asked back, glaring at the obese man.

"You quit in the Wiggler challenge!" he pointed out to her. "So you should volunteer for this to make it up. And you're psychic." Luvbi tilted her head up, accepting the role.

"Well, at least I didn't have the coward's role in the prior mission," she said back to Wario, walking back to her own house to prepare her baggage, "and I am _not_ psychic." Within an hour, all seven players were ready at the dock, as they set off to their most fun-filled location since the beginning of the game.

Goombella: _Hopefully, we actually made a wise decision in truly choosing who we thought would make the best navigators. I had a gut feeling we were making a mistake, and in soon time, I realized I was right. _

* * *

As the boat arrived to the beach shore located before the Pinna Park's entrance, McHallyboo lead the eager players towards the gate, and into the midst of Isle Delfino's only and number one amusement park. The players gasped with amazement, almost like little kids as they stepped in the center of the walkways among the attractions. The high Ferris wheel in the background caught most of their eyes first, as they walked on, passing an oddly-shaped attraction on their right.

"Come join me!" a Noki in the center of the spinning dial ride said to Bobbery. "You know how to toot your shell!" The Noki continued to play his peculiar, ocarina-resembling instrument.

"I would, but perhaps another time," Bobbery replied kindly.

"Oh no," Vivian said with fear, looking above at the roller coaster track that made its way around the entirety of the park. The players ducked, some of them letting out a shout as an object zoomed past them from above. The roller coaster then followed the rest of its coordinated line path, as Goombella laughed out loud.

"Oh, we're so gonna ride that!" she said with enthusiasm. A bit joyous and apprehensive too, the others realized that she was right as McHallyboo finally lead them to a spot almost nearly opposite from the entrance of the park.

"Well, obviously, we are here at Pinna Park!" the host said with a wide grin. "Though I assure you, as fun as it looks, there will be stress, and things will be tense. Like always." As his grin grew wider, the players couldn't help but feel more apprehensive.

"Your next game is called Race of the Rides," the host told them. "Two teams will be facing off, needing to complete a certain task in order to win. Respectively, they are Yoshi and Luvbi, versus the rest of you."

"Oh joy," Luvbi said sarcastically, turning to face the others.

"Team of five, here is your task," said McHallyboo, pointing besides him. Within seconds, the roller coaster car had already finished its lap around the park, settling right before them and besides where McHallyboo was standing. The team of five nodded, excited, though still unaware of their game.

"One by one, you'll be riding this roller coaster," said the host. "During your lap around, you will be asked a maximum of three questions."

"Wait, while the ride is going on?" Wario asked the host. The host nodded.

Vivian: _I do not like roller coasters at all. I was afraid that we'd end up having to ride it in the first place, and I guess I was right._ _The drops, and the dizziness afterwards…I just don't like them._

"Oh, well…" Bobbery started, not too enthusiastic with the mission himself. Both Diddy and Goombella appeared as the most enthusiastic for their next game.

"You must keep on going in an ordered cycle until you answer fifteen questions correctly, to end the game," the host explained. "Speaking which, each of you might end up going once, or who knows, countless times on this very roller coaster depending on how successful you are. However, you will be racing the other two, whose task is a bit simpler. Luvbi and Yoshi, your task is to ride every attraction here on Pinna Park besides the roller coaster."

"Hah, all right!" Yoshi said, laughing and turning to Luvbi. All players were amused as Luvbi displayed a look of disbelief.

Luvbi: _Riding rides…it was hardly a mission. I was going to feel more like a child than ever before._

"The gate now has an installed ticket slot which gives out tickets for each ride," the host continued. "Simply press the button and a ticket will be let out. Then you must travel to the designated attraction and ride it completely before continuing."

"Sounds simple," said Luvbi.

"However, on each of your tickets is a small task that's required for each ride," the host informed them. "Once all four rides and tasks are completed, you must run up to this very spot, at the roller coaster entrance, before the other five have gotten their fifteen correct answers. Then, you win."

"Then what happens if we beat them?" Yoshi asked.

"This game is a race," McHallyboo said, facing the team of five. "If you can get your fifteen correct questions before Luvbi and Yoshi make it up here, you will add 20,000 coins to the team pot. However, if they beat you before you can finish your job, no money will be awarded, and both of them would earn an exemption for themselves." The five players were struck with alarm, or at least presumably all five of them.

"Oh, come on, two exemptions McHallyboo?" Diddy said with disfavor. "That's ridiculous."

"Then wait, we should have picked the worst navigators for those roles!" Goombella realized, shaking her head. "I knew it." She turned to Diddy, who had a face of realization as well.

Goombella:_ Maybe I suckered myself in a coalition with the Mole? I won't know, but it really did scare me._

"But anyways, our game starts," McHallyboo said. "Ready?" The players nodded, as McHallyboo stepped to the side, exposing the open roller coaster car and opening its access.

"Go!" Luvbi and Yoshi immediately ran off to their own game, eager to get their free passes. The five players immediately exchanged glances.

"So, who's first?" Wario asked.

"We have no time for chit-chat!" ordered Bobbery. "Our places in this game are at risk. Goombella, go, go!"

Goombella, being volunteered by the others to be the first rider, got into the car and pulled down the lap bar as she faced sideways to McHallyboo with a smile. She had been given an ear piece for the contents of their mission, as McHallyboo held a tiny microphone mechanism.

"First drop is a whopping eight-five feet," the host decided to add, as Goombella's face changed dramatically. "This park has changed over a few years."

"All set!" a Noki shouted from behind, as the roller coaster finally began moving. The lone car begun to ascend along the beginning of the track, as the other players waited anxiously, watching the car approach closer to its first drop. Goombella adjusted her ear piece, hearing McHallyboo's voice.

"Goombella, can you hear me?" said the host.

"Yes, I can hear you," she replied, her voice being heard by all players at the roller coaster platform as well. The car of Goombella made its way higher along the tracks, as she got a view of Pinna Park from a point too high. Rising even more from the ground, the roller coaster car approached its maximum heigh, and then became parallel with the ground.

"Okay," said the host's voice, as the roller coaster car of Goombella neared the top of the track, right before the drop, "Here is your first question: How many nights have we been here in Isle Delfino?"

Goombella: _The worst place to have a question was right before the drop. They just had to ask a question at that time!_

"I think it's-Ahhhhh!" was all the others could hear from Goombella as the roller coaster car plunged down in an instant, then swooped down as it nearly touched the tiled ground of Pinna Park. The car then swerved, ready to make its first loop.

"Oh, my," Vivian gasped, witnessing the first drop of the ride she was about to go on.

"Six nights!" she replied loudly.

"Correct!" The four waiting players cheered, Goombella cheering as well and laughing through the first loop as her car became inverted, then back to regular position as it continued on.

"One for fifteen," Vivian said optimistically. "It's a start." As the car continued onwards to another loop, the second question was delivered.

"The locations Ricco Harbor and Gelato Beach make how many letters combined, multiplied by two?" Goombella paused for a second, as the roller coaster continued more past the halfway mark. The other players waited for her answer.

"It's…let's see," she said from aboard the speeding coaster. "Forty-four, I think?"

"Correct again!" the host shouted, as Goombella went through the second loop of the ride, then onwards to a horizontal circle. As Goombella clapped, her car then moved towards the part of the track above the ocean, as she tried to look around her. Only little time remained until her lap was over.

"How many nights had the players as a whole slept at Delfino Plaza?" McHallyboo asked her. Panicking, she tried to count the number of nights in her head in order to answer her third, and most difficult question.

"It's…five?" she answered. As McHallyboo shook his head, the car slowed down as it approached the loading dock. Looking rather normal, Goombella removed her lap bar and stepped out of the car, shaking her head to clear it.

**Questions Obtained: 2/15**

"Okay, next move on!" Bobbery ordered, as Diddy immediately took her place for the second lap.

"How was it?" Wario decided to ask.

"You gotta try it!" Goombella told them, as they all looked at Diddy's car slowly begin to move. "It would have been more fun without the questions, but yah."

"I don't think we have a choice," Vivian said, looking fearfully as the car with Diddy left the platform, and onto its second trip around.

* * *

Both Luvbi and Yoshi reached the gate of Pinna Park, pushing the available button on the front to retrieve their first ride ticket. A slip of construction paper slid out, the initials _N.S._ displayed on it.

"A Yoshi-Go-Around!" Yoshi spotted, pointing to their ride on the left. Luvbi chuckled, looking at the ticket more and then towards the ride they had initially passed by when travelling to the roller coaster station.

"This probably stands for…Noki Shells," she considered. "Come on." The two of them stepped upon the spinning dial attraction, consisting of rainbow colored shells and a Noki standing in the center.

"How on Earth are we supposed to ride this?" Luvbi asked with curiosity, trying to open one of the shells.

"Ooh, you sit down and hold it open!" said Yoshi, figuring out the function of one of the shells himself. Both he and Luvbi took seats besides one another, as the Noki in the middle simply paused and looked at them. He then continued his instrument playing.

"Hold it, we have a task to complete in order to win the exemptions," Luvbi remembered, reading the message printed at the bottom of their slip of paper:

_Ride in colors of Mario's true origin. Hint: The country is not one related to the watermelon mission_.

"We need Mario's origin," Yoshi repeated, looking at the shells. "The colors are probably coordinated with how we do this game."

"Well, we know it's not Italy then," Luvbi said, remembering the Italian content of the mission she had played. "Mario's true origins…so what does that mean?"

"So Japan!" Yoshi said, as Luvbi nodded with agreement. While Yoshi sat backwards into the white-colored shell, Luvbi went over to sit in the red one.

"Let's toot-a-toot-toot!" the Noki between them said. "The ride is over when I finish this beautiful melody." Confused, the two players merely rode their first ride, or rather, oddly-constructed attraction of Pinna Park.

**Exemption Rides: 1/4**

* * *

Diddy waited for his first question to arrive, as McHallyboo waited for the roller coaster car to approach its maximum height. He looked backwards, giving McHallyboo a thumbs-up as he continued on.

"So Diddy, can you hear me?" McHallyboo asked.

"Of course!" the monkey said. "Ask me the first question fat!" As the roller coaster began to descend, Diddy let out an animated yell, dropping eighty-five feet amidst McHallyboo's first asking of the three questions.

"What was Boo's occupation?" the host asked. Diddy thought for a second, as his car entered into a loop at the same time.

"Wasn't he a bouncer?" he yelled, trying to regain his vision among the twirling view around him.

"Incorrect," said the host. "A security guard." Diddy groaned, as his car headed towards its second loop.

"What! Even I knew that," Wario retorted from the station.

"Yes, but at a high speed like that, your mind isn't exactly at its best potential," Bobbery pointed out, as they watched Diddy complete his second loop.

"Who was Vivian's partner in the Wiggler Cowardice test?" McHallyboo asked. Diddy hesitated for a second before nearly jumping out from his roller coaster lap bar.

"Me!" he shouted. McHallyboo nodded, as Diddy's car headed towards the track of the roller coaster that was above the ocean. Turning over, it was about the same spot where Goombella's third question had commenced.

"Okay, final question," the host told him.

"Come on, come on," Diddy said impatiently. McHallyboo took his time reading over the third and last question of Diddy's first lap.

"What is my first name?" he asked him, as Diddy got closer to the station.

"Mason Coles…whatever…Hallybooo…I don't care," Diddy said rapidly, as the car reached the station, ending the second lap of the game.

**Questions Obtained: 4/15**

"Not bad," he said to himself, getting out of the car. "Come on! We can do this." Bobbery put himself into the seat, giving the host a nod for the ride to begin.

"Let's stop those exemption-hungry players," Bobbery said confidently, as the elderly player was shipped off to the most intense mission act of his entire game.

Bobbery: _As pitiable as it was really, I felt more fear in a ride designed for adolescents than in a confrontation with a wild creature of large size. Well, the roller coaster was large as well…oh, just pity the old._ _We go through quite a lot yet frighten by things so little._

Diddy: _We probably broke a million ride rules that game. It was like, check! One round is down, let the other person go without checking the lap bar for safety…this was way more dangerous than the previous game in Gelato Beach._

"Bobbery, hearing check," McHallyboo said out loud.

"Yes sir, I hear it," Bobbery said, closing his eyes as the roller coaster neared its first and only heavy drop, then audibly he said, "Oh Scarlette. This may be the end of me." The other four could only pity the old player in amusement.

"What was the name of the island where the Island Bash had taken place?" McHallyboo asked Bobbery. Knowing the answer immediately, Bobbery fought to yell the answer out.

"Island…Tarasp!" he bellowed, his car dropping down then swooping upwards at the end of his drop. The players couldn't help but cheer loudly.

"Wow, he actually said the answer during the drop," Goombella pointed out, not having done it herself.

* * *

**And that is that! ...eh…I know, worst place to stop, heh. ****But the next chapter is sure to finish the mission! I apologize deeply for the sudden vacation, and I hope to get back as soon as possible! (lol, the irnony of this chapter and where I am going)**

**Anyways, the third clue picture has been uploaded to the bottom of my profile. I made it in the hurried moment, but hopefully it'll clue you in closer to the Mole's actual identity. Can you figure it out?**

**I'll see you all in a bit, but regardless, thank you to all!**


	15. Falling Stakes

**Hi!**

***dodges bullet***

**OH SHNIKES, the heck was that for! --- oh. I see. I understand your actions. I'm sorry for the delay. Ergh, where's my award for least consistent author? I oughta have it by now, lol.**

**Anyways, enjoy as the adventure continues on! The roller coaster riding goes on as well, and of course, the actions of the Mole. Enjoy!**

* * *

**Episode 4_ (Part 2)_**

The ride continued on, Bobbery now adjusted to the violent jerking motions that the car offered with every minuscule turn. As the roller coaster continued, the remaining four who were docked with the host could only watch and listen as they battled against the unknown time limit of two of their teammates, who at that moment were traversing from ride to ride amidst the park.

"Bobbery, who was the last player to step off the boat in the very beginning of the game?" was McHallyboo's second question.

"I would swear…Wendy, was it?" Bobbery said, furrowing his eyebrows in his attempt to remember. Vivian clenched her teeth with worry, knowing the incorrect value of his answer.

Bobbery: _The ride mutilated your thoughts. And to make it more terrible, the host was delivering questions from the very first episode that you couldn't even care a Mole's turd for. Ridiculous. _

"Wow, he answered through the second loop!" Goombella pointed out, as they all saw the car invert and then continue with its straight path.

"Yeah, but the answer's not even right," Wario said, looking unimpressed. "So I wouldn't call that anything spectacular at all!"

"Sorry Bobbery, that is wrong," confirmed McHallyboo in reference to Bobbery's answer. Goombella gave a look of dissent towards Wario, then faced back to the roller coaster as the host got ready for Bobbery's last question.

"How many rides must Luvbi and Yoshi ride on before they can come here and claim their exemptions?" McHallyboo spoke out.

"Hmmm, five," Bobbery answered immediately. Also immediately, Diddy delivered a face palm to himself.

"No, it's four!" Diddy said out loud, particular to no one. "The Noki Shells, the Yoshi-go-Around, those ships, and the Ferris wheel! That makes four! We're losing!"

"Riddance!" Bobbery shouted, both in reply to Diddy and the ride itself he was riding. "What about that wading pool?"

"Technically that is not considered an attraction," McHallyboo confirmed. "Diddy is right." The car of the roller coaster made its way to above the ocean water, where Bobbery took a large breath of below, taking in the brief scent.

"Say, does he always have to smell the sea water at every opportunity on this vacation?" Wario asked, annoyed. "He's always does that and it creeps me out."

Diddy: _Bobbery just answered those questions way too fast on the roller coaster, and was pretty much halfway through when he finished all three. He could have used more time and easily gotten at least one more question right. He only got one in total._

**Questions Obtained: 5/15**

"Oh, okay," Vivian said, getting up to her feet. "I have to go now. I've prepared myself so much while Bobbery was going." The other four players looked at her, nodding with hidden uncertainty.

"Well, I wanted to go last anyway," Wario said, shrugging uncaringly.

"Last, huh?" Diddy inquired. "So you think there's a hidden exemption in choosing to go last in the order?" Wario gave him a puzzled look.

"What? No!" Wario said back to him, as they all watched Vivian get into the coaster car. "No need to get so nosy, you monkey. And all for no reason."

"I do everything for a reason," Diddy said, as they all began to cheer for Vivian and their possibilities for a higher chance of survival. "No matter how bad they make me look, it's always for the better."

"Sure, all right," Wario huffed. "I'll keep that in mind when you're executed." He narrowed his eyes heavier at the player besides him.

* * *

The two exemption players immediately hurried off of their first attraction as it came to a stop, rushing over to the gate that emitted their next ticket to ride.

**M.G.R.**

"The Merry-Go-Around, favorite ride at last!" Yoshi said, turning to the attraction that consisted of painted replicas of his known species. Luvbi let out a chuckle and followed him.

"Well, then the game here says, _'One in hatching, another takes a hero's place_,'" Luvbi read, looking over the ticket's message at the bottom of the paper.

"So one in hatching," Yoshi said, pointing to the other option of riding aboard the carousel: an egg-shaped seating.

"Well, these certain missions we have to perform on each ride aren't exactly difficult. They're just wordy and tricky." Knowing the answer, she walked over to the half-egg compartment among the Yoshi figures and climbed aboard, then sat down properly.

"And then I would be riding one of myself, just like Mario would," Yoshi figured, climbing aboard a pink-colored Yoshi and buckling himself in. "Okay, let's start this ride!"

"So I suppose you're going to color yourself orange and act as your own mount?" Luvbi laughed, facing him. Yoshi faced back to her, confound at her statement.

"Oh, never mind," Luvbi said, sitting back down as the carousel started its slow fifteen rotations.

* * *

Vivian: _I was just so nervous as the car climbed up the first hill. I was shaking in my car, because the lap bar wasn't even tight. I was sure I was going to fall out!_

"Well, she has nothing to worry about," Bobbery commented, as her car lifted higher. "She took time to tighten her lap bar as heavily as possible."

"Yeah, but...ohhh," Goombella groaned, showing concern in her voice. "Even I got chills on the ride, and I'm more used to these wild things. Vivian might faint."

"You're over exaggerating," Wario snickered, as Vivian approached the top of the hill, a second away from the largest drop of the entire ride. "She'll be all right. Look, she's still alive."

"Yeah, but you have nothing to judge, seeing that you hadn't even ridden it yet," Diddy said reasonably to Wario. "Plus, we all have to go anyway. It's the rules." The coaster car tilted, approaching its final horizontal foot of track as Vivian grabbed onto her lap bar as tightly as possible.

"Vivian, can you hear me?" McHallyboo asked, holding the walkie-talkie up to his mouth and waiting for a reply back. All he could hear in reply was a scream, as the other four looked over in the distance at Vivian dropping down in her car, through the first drop of the track until it swerved up at the bottom. She was still screaming, her arms visibly wrapped around the bar that secured her in place and kept her from falling out.

"Yes!" she managed to shout out, burying her head as low as possible in her arms. Goombella laughed, watching the frightened player as the other three males could only hope for Vivian's success in her questions.

"Okay, question one!" said McHallyboo. "Rosalina's occupation was what?" The coaster went into its first loop, as the other four looked on.

"Err, is she answering?" Goombella asked, baffled. Bobbery peered closer, seeing Vivian's face in a look of stunned feeling as the car went on.

"She's kinda frozen in her own fear," Bobbery said flatly. "An unfamiliar one too." Diddy moaned out loud, then faced the car, ready to shout.

"Come on Vivian!" he shouted towards her from afar, not knowing that his voice was inaudible to her. "This is for five hundred thousand coins!" He kicked the air besides him in a vicious manner.

"You stupid monkey, you're scaring her!" Wario shouted. "She can hear you on McHallyboo's device!"

"Scaring _her_?" Diddy shot back. "Well, at least I don't scare people with my looks already, like you do!" Goombella couldn't help but laugh, then covered her mouth quickly as Wario shot a livid look at her.

"I'm human," Wario said, not offended and almost boastfully. "And you're kinda delayed. Hah!"

"I'm sorry!" they heard Vivian say from McHallyboo's microphone. "Was it...flight attendant?"

"Yes, correct!" shouted the host, pulling out his next card. "Enjoying the ride so far?"

"No!" Vivian screamed back.

Wario: _Vivian was doing a really bad job, and might be the Mole. She wasn't even attempting those questions_. _The ride was designed for kiddies and she was acting more scared than she should._

_

* * *

_

"Look at me!" Yoshi said, leaning off from his carousel mount and reaching out to Luvbi. Luvbi let out a chuckle, then looked out towards the roller coaster. Vivian was amidst her roller coaster answering as they made their final carousel rotation.

"Well, I guess our job isn't at all too bad," Luvbi considered, "though it is degrading."

"No way! It's kinda fun," Yoshi objected. "Would you rather be on a carousel or a roller coaster?"

"Well, roller coaster honestly," Luvbi said. Yoshi frowned, then looked at the roller coaster too.

"Well, it seems fun but...exemption or no exemption?" Yoshi added, winking. Luvbi laughed, nodding to herself as she sat back down in her carousel compartment.

"On second though, I'm happy Wario volunteered me for this role," Luvbi said, smiling with exhaustion as the merry-go-around completed yet another round.

"Look, I'm flying!" Yoshi added, flapping his tongue like an oar. Luvbi laughed, groaning as she realized that the carousel picked up speed momentarily. At the sudden sound of gears stopping, she let out a slight cry as the ride suddenly halted, sending her down onto the floor of the egg compartment she was sitting in. Yoshi fell off his stand completely, grabbing onto the head of his mount as he fell down, falling to the carousel flooring. Luvbi hopped out and ran over to his position in alarm.

"Yoshi!" she cried. Yoshi lifted his arm up, pointing blindly at the direction of where the gate was.

"Get the next ticket...please," he begged, gasping. Luvbi did so, sighing in disbelief and amusement.

**Exemption Rides: 2/4**

* * *

It had been a full twenty seconds after McHallyboo had delivered his second question to Vivian of: _How many letters were in the first names of all three executed players combined?_

"Well, at this rate she won't be able to even be asked a third question," Bobbery noticed. "Maybe not even answer the second."

"Oh, I knew she would ruin this game one way or another!" Wario said, his statement showing a level of rudeness.

"Oh, come on Vivian," Goombella said to herself. "Get the question right, just for our sake." Vivian from aboard the coaster car lifted her head, ready with her answer, as the car approached dangerously close back to the dock.

"Is it...sixteen?" she shouted. The players all seemed to lean in with anticipation.

"Yes!" shouted McHallyboo, as the players cheered. Diddy, however, seemed unmoved.

"Hey, but she totally delayed the last question!" he pointed out. "So it's like, we're cheering for her failure!"

"Oh, you're just jealous," Goombella said uncaringly, as Vivian finally approached back to the deck, and to the others. Shaken, she stepped out, then shook her head.

"Well, you certainly look beat," Goombella told her, as the two of them laughed.

**Questions Obtained: 7/15**

"It was just so, scary...sorry I didn't do so well," Vivian said, sitting down to regain her mind. "I'll do better next time."

"If the other two don't win exemptions by then, that is," Bobbery said, then faced Wario, who remained motionless where he was standing. The roller coaster car was empty.

"Wario, commence!" he ordered. The obese human snapped back, realizing his turn on the ride as he strapped himself in, then was sent off to his lap of answering questions.

Goombella: _Just all of us switching so suddenly on the roller coaster...I was almost having a vision of the ride breaking down and crashing, and one of us falling off to your deaths. That would have been horrible for the viewers at home though. Or maybe exciting for our new generation._

"I'll be able to hear you scream like a girl from here!" Diddy shouted after him, as his car began to ascend further. Wario faced backwards, sticking his tongue out towards the player behind him, then facing back to his impending drop.

As he approached the ride climax for his first time, he let out a yell, one that was nothing more than just a shout of arrogance.

"Hah, he thinks he's so brave," Goombella commented, "but two girls already rode the coaster before him."

"Can you hear me?" McHallyboo said to him.

"Crystal clear!" Wario shouted, then yelling louder as his car dropped the full eighty-eight feet of the track. McHallyboo got his first question card out.

"Wario, how many durians were hanging above the table the first time we dined at the Durian Cafe?"

"That's easy!" Wario shouted back. "Three!" McHallyboo nodded, and the players shared a sense of surprise with each other.

"Heh, one answer," Diddy stated to them, as McHallyboo asked his second question.

"At what time did the party start in Episode 2's Island Bash mission?"

"Three P.M. sharp," Wario said out loud, as he ended his first loop of the roller coaster. The other players were astounded, Diddy's mouth open with more surprise than the others.

"Well, I guess he's not as dull as we...thought?" Goombella said, smiling at their unexpected success as they're question count was rising with every correct answer.

"Last question!" McHallyboo said, as Wario approached his second loop of the roller coaster, "And it is, what food did the executed player during the BLT game have to retrieve?"

"Bah, that's easy," Wario and Diddy said simultaneously, Wario from aboard the roller coaster and Diddy, trying not to act impressed from the boarding dock of the ride. "Lettuce." The ride came to an end, Wario having enjoyed a majority of the ride question-free. He stepped out and faced the others.

"Well, I guess THAT shows I'm really playing for the team," he said, stepping away back to his place.

**Questions Obtained: 10/15**

"Oh, it's my turn again," Goombell a realized, as she and Wario made a hasty seat switch.

"Oh yah, the ear piece," Wario said, suddenly taking it from his pocket and giving it to her. "Good luck."

"Players, you are at ten questions," McHallyboo informed them, as Goombella's car went up its track. "You can finish this in just two more riders. Your success is closing in." The four of them kept their hopes up, all of them spotting Yoshi and Luvbi as they climbed their way up the steps that led to the entrance of Pinna' Park's third attraction.

* * *

"Oh, this is the ride," Luvbi said, looking forward unwillingly. The ride consisted of two swinging ships which at that moment were amidst its final rotation, the outside of each of the two boats having a layer of fine wood that gave an extra coating over it's steel structure, creating them to appear as perfect pirate ship models, ones such that you would find in the ocean carrying a ship of rouges. In this case, a significant number of enjoying tourists and riders rode the ships that rocked back and forth, slowly, slowly, then into a full three-hundred and sixty degree spin.

"All right, this one should be the most fun so far!" Yoshi commented, the ship swinging only a mere few fee away from his face.

"I...don't think 'fun' would be the most proper term for me," said Luvbi. As the ride came to a steady stop and the passengers on board exited, two more riders boarded from the other side of the ship and sat down beside each other as the lap bar was put over their bodies. Yoshi looked down at the ticket they had received just minutes before from the front gate: **V.S.** On the bottom, the phrase, and their third mission was spotted:

_When the ride reaches stop, the attendant must be in knowledge of twenty_ _structures of music_

"Okay, so let's do this," Yoshi said, keeping their ticket secure in place. "Think of instruments while we're riding. Let's do this, Luvbi! Get pumped!"

"Yeah, while I'm screaming my head off and going upside-down, I suppose?" Luvbi winced. "I've never been a fan of these swinging ship rides anyway. And are they even constructed to invert?" At that second, the ride attendant had begun the ride, as the ship the two players were riding begun its slow momentum, back and forth above the small pool below.

Luvbi: _Even from the very first swing of that ride I felt that despicable falling feeling, and needless to say I did not like it at all. Yes, I fly, but I don't descend at high speeds like in an amusement park ride with heavy drops._

Yoshi: _I was scared to sit next to Luvbi at first. Even before the ride started she looked like she was gonna throw up all over the ship._

* * *

The lifting ride compartment with Goombella had reached up to the highest point of its tracks. And before she dropped, the host did his usual ear piece check dialogue on her, as he had done with every passenger that had ridden before her on their first round. But unfortunately and peculiarly this time, an error was encountered.

"Goombella, can you hear me?" the host talked in his usual voice. The players couldn't see the confused look on Goombella's face as all she heard were faint, fuzzy words from McHallyboo, being emitted from her ear piece.

"Wha...what, McHallyboo?" she repeated quickly.

"Can you hear me?" the host questioned.

"Okay, there's something really weird with the ear piece," she explained back. From the platform, the others heard her voice clearly, and immediately, their hopeful looks turned into ones of confusion as well.

"Hold it, something's wrong with her ear piece?" Wario said, his eyes struck with perplexity. "What is she talking about! Stop the ride!" Goombella plummeted down the track, holding the ear piece closer to her head as McHallyboo gave the first question of their second round.

"First question is, how much money in total could the team in total have won in Episode 1?"

"McHallyboo...McHallyboo, I can't hear you like at all," Goombella told him, trying to maintain her focus as she went through the first loop of the ride. "Can you repeat the question?"

"Hold on, why isn't it working?" Wario asked out loud.

"Okay, something's not normal with it," Diddy concluded. Bobbery stepped closer to the speaker device in McHalyboo's hand, scrutinizing it with confused eyes as well.

"Is she okay?" Vivian asked, looking at McHallyboo's device as well, where the host spoke his words.

"Okay, I still can't hear you!" Goombella repeated, a few seconds after McHallyboo had again repeated the first question of her round. As her car reached the horizontal circle of the track, her first question still remained unanswered.

Goombella: _The ear piece was just flat out buzzed up. I even tried taking it off and shaking it, and I was even scared to drop it while on the roller coaster but nothing would work! Something had happened to it._

A painful three minutes followed after the initial confusion of the ear piece error, which then still continued as Goombella reached back onto the ride platform, the ear piece off her head as she took off her lap bar. Immediately, she ran up and showed it to the four other players.

"Okay, something happened to it!" Goombella said, shaking her head with confusion. "Like, just as we started this round, the ear piece started to buzz up."

"So like, the producers did something with it?" Vivian wondered. The other three all jumped onto the ear piece that Goombella was holding, almost at once.

"But it was perfectly okay when it was on my head!" Wario pointed out, giving a look at Goombella that hinted of suspicion.

"Okay, well, you had it before me," Goombella asked him. "Did it work?"

"Well, it was a little fuzzy when I first received it," Wario considered, still looking heavily at the ear piece. "Was it faulty in the first place?"

Bobbery: _If the device was faulty, then it would be the game's fault. It can't just malfunction on purpose and guarantee exemptions for Yoshi and Luvbi. Nothing on McHallyboo's device seemed out of place or suspicious, nor did it seem like he rigged something._

"Oh come on, it doesn't just die like that!" Diddy pointed out, crossing his arms. "We just lost an entire round of three potential answers."

"Well, I'm pretty sure this stuff doesn't just happen," Goombella added, looking distraught along with the others from the fact that Diddy had stated. An entire round of question answering was lost with valuable time, as Diddy immediately went to board the ride once again, ear piece in hand. In the distance at that moment, Yoshi and Luvbi had gotten off their third ride, in the midst of completing their third mission that would guarantee them closer to safety.

* * *

"Ten instruments?" was the question that the ride attendant inquired as the two players got off their attraction.

"Violin, drums, trumpet, tuba, saxophone, oboe...harmonica, clarinet, fruit, I mean flute..." Yoshi began, listing and giving out nine out of their twenty needed replies.

"Well, harp," Luvbi added, looking cautiously at Diddy above who was ascending in his roller coaster car and casting a shadow directly across the path behind them. "Yoshi, we're running out of time."

"Cymbols, tamberine, french horn, err, bagpipes...guitar is also an intrument," continued Yoshi. "That's fifteen, right?" The right attendant nodded, still blocking their way to exit the steps of the pirate ships ride.

"Xylophone...trombone, an organ is an instrument, a kazoo is another...err, bell?" Yoshi said, trying to finish off all twenty.

"A bell is not an instrument," said the attendant.

"Drats," Yoshi said, looking at Luvbi. "Organ, kazoo, umm, guitar---"

"How about a whistle?" Luvbi thought. "Wouldn't that be a variant of a church organ?"

"Well....yes ma'am, we'll accept that," said the attendant, using his pen to mark their ticket and stepping aside, letting the two players go onwards to the gate.

**Exemption Rides: 3/4**

Nearly slamming into the wall, Yoshi pushed the button as their final ticket was emitted.

**F.W.**

_Have not two, but three._

"We'll figure this mission meaning later," Luvbi said immediately. "We have to go to our final ride." The two of them ran off with enthusiasm, laughing at their new level of success, and a quick one indeed.

"We have to hurry," Yoshi said, as they both looked behind them to see Diddy descend on his first drop.

"Oh dear, I realized that we didn't mention piano at all when we were naming instruments," Luvbi said, slapping her own forehead as they both laughed.

"A whistle is an instrument," Yoshi said, tilting his head. "I learn new things every day."

Almost at the end of their journey, they walked up the inclined path of little angle that led to their final ride, a path that seemed of no difficulty at all to run up, but at their moment in the game seemed like an arduous hike, especially with the addition that they had traversed the entire amusement park back and forth, finally reaching the end and their final ride. Both of them groaned however when they came across an obstruction that they hadn't encountered before on any of their three previous missions: a line of Nokis and Piantas.

"Ah, shoot," Yoshi said, his heart dropping, along with their certain hopes of winning their free items of security to the next episode.

* * *

Diddy finished his round, as he stepped off the car of the coaster, obviously irate and doing a bad job keeping in his anger.

"It did, not, work!" he shouted, as soon as he stepped onto the platform floor, ear piece clutched in his hand.

"Well, our time is short, isn't it?" Bobbery said in a voice not as panicked or angry. "But that doesn't give our chances up. Let's win this game. Who's with me?" Nobody replied back with strength.

"With a broken ear piece?" Diddy retorted. Bobbery simply grabbed the object from Diddy and wasted no time starting the ride again, travelling upwards in the roller coaster track. All five players were in contemplation on what had happened to their only ear piece, a crucial object of their mission that now served more importance to them than ever before. Or at least, assumedly all five were in heavy wondering.

"So, I guess our game has been screwed up," Wario said, hanging his head and apparently not following the drift of Bobbery's optimism. "And this is just all great. We were even getting close to winning."

"Bobbery, can you hear me?" McHallyboo called out. There was no reply from the player.

"Okay, someone did something," Goombella stated. "Whether it was the Mole or maybe just the producer's fault, or, you know. In fact, I don't know at all."

"Guys, I really think it was the Mole," Vivian said out loud. "We were getting close to winning this game and an ear piece doesn't just break itself."

Diddy: _So just saying that it was the Mole, I mean, why did they have to choose this mission? Why the mission where two other players could potentially get exemptions? It just made me so mad._

Goombella: _Whoever did it knew they did it. This was definitely going into my journal as the most suspicious act so far in this entire game. This was so not getting ignored for as long as I'm playing._

* * *

Luvbi studied each Ferris wheel compartment of the ride that towered in front of them. Almost resembling an octopus, each gondola was extended by a branch of purple metal, spinning at a rate that gave the two players a spark of hope that perhaps each round of the ferris wheel was shorter than they thought.

"There are eight passenger gondolas," Luvbi calculated. "And there are sixteen people in front of us. Though on thought, I would assume that people would be riding together, lessening our time. We got this, or at least I hope."

"Riding together," Yoshi repeated, his eyes lightening up. He took out the fourth ticket they had just received and looked at their message printed at the bottom.

"Look," he said, showing the paper to Luvbi too. "Our mission says at the bottom '_Have not two, but three'. _Maybe we're not supposed to ride alone with just two people, but have another person with us. That makes three people.

"So we're supposed to grab a player from the roller coaster and have them ride with us?" Luvbi asked, perplexed.

"Or maybe just a random person," Yoshi considered. They both turned ahead to see a lone Noki, old and wearing a brimmed hat along with a beard that extended past his navel. He looked in no relation to the two adult Piantas ahead of him, who were holding hands and making gestures to each other that indicated they were a couple.

"Okay, so just ask him to ride with us?" Luvbi said carefully.

"Yah, I guess." They both exchanged glances, as Luvbi stepped forwards and gave a small tap on the shoulder of the person in line in front of them. The elderly man turned around, sputtering at the same time and facing the two players of ambition.

"What is this going on!" he exclaimed, as Luvbi was taken back with a face that indicated she was averse to inviting him. Yoshi stepped forwards with a greeting smile on his face.

"Sir, we're just wondering if you wouldn't mind riding with us on the Ferris wheel," Yoshi informed him, still with a grin. "My friend and I have ridden this very ride SO many times before, but I'm afraid it's gotten so boring riding alone. We would love to have some company this time around though."

"You gentle lad, of course!" he replied, as both Yoshi and Luvbi eagerly stepped up to join him. "You know, you remind me of my grandson. He just hated doing things alone. He was always trying out new stuff!"

"Oh yes, me too!" Yoshi said, leaving and forcing Luvbi to listen to both the continuous whizzing of the roller coaster above and the pointless conversation that was taking place right besides her.

* * *

"Another three minutes wasted!" Diddy said, his anger at its max peak since the start of the entire episode. Bobbery gave him a glare as he stepped off the coaster car he was in.

"And this is none of our fault but the fault of the Mole!" Bobbery replied vehemently, giving the ear piece another good look before handing it to Vivian. "I won't be taking blame for an act of sabotage as degrading as this." Vivian turned to the roller coaster, still not exactly looking forward to her second round.

Vivian: _With all the commotion going on, I just wasn't in the mood to go again at all._

"Maybe we don't even have to go," Vivian spoke up. "I don't even want to ride again, and the ear piece is broken." Goombella shook her head, giving Vivian a slight nudge towards the waiting car. Diddy seemed like he was giving up, sitting on the floor of the platform and not liking Vivian's words at all.

"Come on, we can't give up," Goombella said to her. "I don't know what happened to it but we got to try!"

"Yah, what if the ear piece comes up and starts working again!" Wario considered to her. "Then you'd be in serious trouble, sabotaging for us all."

Vivian looked at Goombella, and then walked straight to the seat of the roller coaster car buckled herself in, as the roller coaster sent off. And at the very top of the ride where the host would make his usual meaningful hearing check to the riding player, the other four could only hope that Vivian would give a reply of confirmation as McHallyboo spoke the line. They waited hopefully.

"Vivian, can you hear me?" the host asked. The lack of reply caused the other players to drop down in hope, most of them not holding any at all at that moment. With a single malfunction, their game was assumed over.

"Yes....McHallyboo, I can hear you!" came the voice of Vivian. "I just heard you!"

"Holy banana!" Diddy said, standing up from his position and being the first one to run up to McHallyboo's spot. "Vivian, really?"

"Yes, clearly!" she replied. The other three players had faces of both relief and ecstasy as Vivian made her first drop, her scream still being heard as loud as her time on the initial round.

"Vivian, Question 1!" McHallyboo spoke, louder than usual. "What was the full name of the player from Season 1 who made a cameo in the game Bag Savers?"

"His name was Blooper Inke!" Vivian screamed, going through her loop on the coaster.

"Oh bless me, I had the feeling hope for us wasn't over," Bobbery said with a pleased grin. Diddy nodded, as they all faced Vivian with new hope.

"Okay Vivian, next one," McHallyboo spoke out. "How many bags did Goombella and Bobbery fail to save while playing the second mission?" Vivian took a little while to hesitate, but her answer was wrong.

"Two?" she said.

"Incorrect," McHallyboo replied. The other players winced a little, but all anxious to reach their fifteen questions as fast as possible.

"Come on, Vivian," Goombella spoke into McHallyboo's device. "Just calm down and think each question."

"Okay," was her reply, as McHallyboo delivered her final question towards her.

"The value of the watermelon with the crucial exemption was worth how much?" said the host. Having been at the mission herself, Vivian closed her eyes, something not incredibly intelligent to do on a disorienting ride but something that helped her think, and remember.

"Four...thousand coins?" she spoke out, as her ride was nearing its final section.

"Correct!" The four players were filled with more excitement than ever as their question count was raised significantly, or at least for a round after so many absences. At twelve, they only needed three more in order to secure their safety, and their money.

**Questions Obtained: 12/15**

"It works!" Vivian cried to them, as she exited onto the ride platform. "It made a static sound, and then I could hear McHallyboo clearly."

"All right, well, we have to know who did this," Wario spoke up sharply, "cause this is way too suspicious for us to ignore!" Though greatly relieved, the others too were all still wondering the source of the ear piece's malfunction, and what had caused it. But more importantly, who had caused it.

"Well, our prime suspect is Goombella," Wario said out loud with a voice of certainty.

"Umm, no it wasn't!" she replied in a sure voice. "Okay, I wouldn't be stupid enough to make the ear piece break on the round I was riding the roller coaster. If I was the Mole, I'd be a stupid Mole. Wario, you had the ear piece before I rode it."

"So, you're saying _I_ malfunctioned the ear piece before you went?" Wario laughed, rolling his eyes as well. "You're just blaming people now for no reason."

"There must have been a way you did something to it," Goombella said, still thinking.

"Enough," Bobbery said, speaking to everyone in particular. "We don't have to discuss this right now, especially in the midst of twenty thousand coins."

"What if the Mole hides evidence right now?" Wario thought, almost in a yell, "and I'll be riding next! This is just the worst spot to be riding at this moment!" Diddy sighed, then dug his hands into his pockets and inverted them, displaying them to all around him.

"Okay, everyone empty out your pockets," Diddy said, half-jokingly but at the same time in a sense of seriousness. "Whoever has a screwdriver is the Mole, right? Or with a fishy object in their pockets."

"I don't have time for ANY of this," Wario said, getting heated up. "I'm riding, and I'm going to get those three final questions for you all!"

"I'm afraid there's no need," said the voice of the person behind them, taking them all by surprise. Luvbi walked up to their spot, giving a half smile to the other five players as well as to the host himself. Behind her was Yoshi, smiling as well and holding all four marked tickets in his hand that secured their exemptions.

**Exemption Rides: 4/4**

The race of the rides was over.

* * *

Diddy: _I hate the Mole for choosing THIS mission to sabotage. Now two more people have exemptions, and then we also lost the twenty thousand coins. If I'm executed this episode then someone is never going to be forgiven._

Vivian: _I'm just happy that I was able to do my part in the game. Riding that roller coaster twice in one day was such a huge success, and even though we didn't win any money that game, I felt like a winner._

Goombella: _The whole ear piece mystery is just killing me, and I'm just going to think about it a lot for the rest of the day. I know I didn't do it. And I know someone else tampered with it. Someone is responsible and that person is still in this game._

Wario: _I can't believe the culprit who messed up the ear piece isn't taking any blame! I'm telling you...someone's a liar here, and I'm going to get to the bottom of this, as much as it'll kill me in the process._

Luvbi: _I need to rely on someone truthful to give me the information I missed during the roller coaster part of the mission. But none the less, I am quite happy with my exemption. It's a relief once again in this game, a game rarely consisting of any relief at all._

Yoshi: _I keep on hearing the phrase "malfunctioned ear piece" and I'm still not certain what it's all about. Something fishy was going on in the other game so I gotta learn all about that._

Bobbery: _Personally, the malfunctioned ear piece is the greatest sabotage yet. But even before that, there were suspicious actions. Vivian failed to answer questions quickly enough on her first round. Diddy caused a few fights, bringing up some unneeded tensions. Wario caused a commotion that was long enough to distract us until Luvbi and Yoshi arrived. If there was no commotion, then we could have gotten those last three questions in time. There goes a value of 20,000 coins._

* * *

Needless to say, the Mole had done their significant part in sabotaging that very mission. But whether or not they would decide to sabotage the next mission didn't matter. What did matter were the contents of their next game and the people involved, taking place at the location where the seven players had met at the conclusion of their first game, and where two people were granted objects of immortality, or at least until Episode 5. McHallyboo had given them an hour of relaxation around the park until they were sent back to their boat, but not off to Delfino Plaza. And though disappointed that their relaxation was ephemeral, things were about to get more tense as McHallyboo stood in front of them all. The players were seated in front of him, at the only table within one of the two boats that bobbed at the edge of the island of attractions.

"So, I suppose you guys enjoyed your first game, but even more the free time you received directly afterwards around the park," the host assumed. "Luvbi and Yoshi, you hold exemptions. They will bring you to the next episode." He handed each player a card of green color, both of them taking it with care and gratefulness.

Goombella: _The thing I really noticed was that a boat, looking almost exactly identical of ours, was right there besides ours when we came back to the beach. All the producers came with us on our boat, so the second boat's existence made me really think that something was up._

"Because you failed to stop them, the pot gains no money and remains at seventy-seven thousand coins," McHallyboo told them. "Which is still good, don't get me wrong. It's just, you should have tried harder."

"Yeah, if only the Mole didn't do their little wimpy act with the ear piece," Wario snarled.

"No worries," McHallyboo informed them, "because though we're already into Episode 4, more episodes still remain, meaning more missions! And with more episodes also comes more executions for you all." The players looked at each other.

"As we came back to the beach, some of you might have noticed that another boat arrived here at Pinna Park," McHallyboo said, introducing the next mission. "All those passengers entered into the park while you were relaxing. You know them all. They are your loved ones, who arrived here this very morning." All seven players turned to McHallyboo in a second of disbelief, their feelings varied with jolts of happiness.

"Wait, who?" Diddy spoke up loud. "Is Dixie here? I wanna see her right now!"

"Oh my," said Vivian, unsure of who would be visiting her. The other players displayed their similar feelings, though still focusing on McHallyboo.

"As you know, it wasn't so easy in Season 1," McHallyboo informed them, as they all felt dismay in his words. "And this time around it won't be any easier, I'm afraid. The mission is quite simple though. Each one of your loved ones is being taken on a tour around the park to every ride. To see your loved one, a prediction must be made on whether or not they would ride the roller coaster if they were brought up to it. If the prediction is correct, you earn money, as well as gain access to spending tonight with them."

"And, if the prediction is wrong, then…?" Wario asked, the others already knowing the answer.

"They'll be shipped back," the host said flatly. "You will miss out completely with a reunion. But the question is, who do you trust? Because the prediction won't be made by you. It has to be made by another player of your choice." As the players looked at each other from around the table, some of their eyes met, their faces telling each other without a single word that the trust between the two of them was scarce, nearly at the level of non-existence.

* * *

**So who can you trust really? Well if anyone, at least not McHallyboo, hehe.**

**A kudos to GoldenArcher96 for creating an execution program of more resemblance to Season 1! I can't even comprehend how to create a program like that in the first place at all, so very impressive and thank you ^.^**

**I apologize for the late update. A lot happened in my life. In fact, I found a new person, and you know, there had been a lot of drama and less time on the computer than normal, due to some actions of other people. But overall, everything is happiness and settled for the most part =)**

**But all besides that, the website is updated, and all up to date! The Mole _is_ still at large, and six players are still fighting to win. Who's the one stopping the game with their yells of sabotage? Who is the Mole?**

**The episode's end takes a turn towards US Season 5, involving a stealing of one of my personal favorite missions, hehe. Stay tuned!**


	16. To Board or Not to Board

**Hey y'all! Hmm, I was definitely going to get this chapter/episode done by Halloween. Guess I'm a few days off my budget x_x But never the less, enjoy! The mission begins, and so does the hat-full of sabotage.**

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* * *

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**Episode 4 **_**(Part 3)**_

"All right, so how do we beat this game?" Wario questioned immediately. "I want to see my loved one, whoever it is!"

"Oh snap," Diddy groaned, remembering the mention of a "loved one" mission from the first season, from none other than Boo in the first episode.

Diddy: _I had a feeling this mission was going to come. If I could change it, I would have made the mission come earlier in the game than now._

"Well, over here", McHallyboo said with a grin, stepping aside and revealing the boat's television, its camera pointing to a certain spot within Pinna Park. The monitor held a view of the roller coaster dock, empty, at least at the moment.

"All of you will be waiting outside this boat," McHallyboo explained. "When your loved one is about to ride, you must send another player into the boat, one who would then make their prediction on whether or not your loved one would ride the roller coaster when brought up to it. If they're correct, you get to see them and spend the entirety of tonight with them. If they're wrong, the person misses out, you lose 5,000 coins from a potential 25,000 coins, and you cause angst and depression to the people you caused misery."

"Well, that's a reassuring way to say it," Luvbi spoke up, giving a look of disapproval to the host.

"Very," Bobbery added. "A very reassuring line that assuages this mission even more."

"But it's true, no?" the host said. "So, we'll be starting soon. But before you exit this boat, write a name. Avoid eye contact. Put the name of the player YOU choose to be the most trustworthy. I'll give you all thirty seconds."

McHallyboo handed a slip of paper to each player, each slip provided with a pen that the players used to write down the name of one other individual, the name of a player they could put their happiness in trust of. Despite McHallyboo's words, some of them used nods and signals to determine which player they were putting their trust into, and choosing as their savior for the upcoming mission.

Goombella: _I was definitely hoping that Diddy would_ _be the one for me to trust. But lately he's just been a little too competitive, and that might have changed him about certain people. Especially me._

Yoshi: _I looked at Luvbi and she made really heavy eye contact with me. Almost as if she was using telepathy to tell me, "Pick me! You can trust me"._

"Very well, seven slips," McHallyboo counted, taking in each used paper. "All of you please step out of this boat." In a slow, single file line the players emptied out, the rules of their game running through their heads. They were simple rules, but ones with stakes that were higher than ever before encountered in any game.

Vivian: _Making your own prediction on whether your loved one would ride a roller coaster or not was easy, so I was scared on how this was going to turn out with someone else determining it._

Almost immediately when the boat hit zero occupancy, the host came out; their mission was scheduled, timed in coordination to each relative roaming the park.

"Goombella, we need you," said the host, as all eyes turned to the surprised player.

"Right now?" she asked. Looking back at the others as she entered the boat, the players looked back at her too as she disappeared, Diddy's eyes being the most intent, focused, and displaying a rare sense of nervousness.

* * *

"So as you might have guessed Goombella, someone chose you as their most trustworthy person." Goombella was seated before two newly-installed buttons, hooked with wires to the television and both placed directly on the table.

"I'm guessing it could be…Diddy?" Goombella guessed. McHallyboo nodded at her correct guess.

"You'll be making more guesses as well," he explained, as the TV flicked on, first a blur of static, reminding Goombella of their recent yet confounding ear piece incident in their previous game. But as it cleared, it displayed the roller coaster dock like before. This time however, a figure was standing there in plain view, seen adjusting the pink beret on her head as well as the banana-resembling ponytail that protruded past her waist. Standing besides the ride attendant, they were both seen in an inaudible conversation.

"Dixie Kong!" Goombella said out loud, recognizing the monkey of same-size figure as that of her boyfriend. McHallyboo moved the two buttons closer to Goombella, one of green color and the other of red.

"Will she ride the roller coaster or will she not?" McHallyboo questioned her. "The green button means yes. The red means no. The guess is up to you. If you're guess is correct, then you will reunite Dixie with Diddy. You have ten seconds."

The small VCR at the top of the screen turned on as well; red-glowing digits that slowly counted down to ten was displayed, leaving the smallest amount of time for a decision. Goombella looked at both buttons strongly.

Goombella: _The panic just rushed to my head. I didn't know which button to choose, but I chose on my instincts and what I saw._

"Uhh," Goombella said, watching the ticking clock as she pushed down on the green button. As the timer reached zero, the VCR shut off, as the television once again displayed its color of pitch black.

"Gosh, I hope I'm right," Goombella said with low confidence, burying her face down.

"So you guessed that she would ride the roller coaster?" the host said, looking at Goombella strongly.

"I just went with what I felt," she reasoned. "Like, if it's wrong, I hope Diddy doesn't blame me."

"Well, we'll soon find out if he will," the host said, as both of them exited the boat. Upon stepping outside again, Goombella settled with the others, but McHallyboo went forth, grabbing Diddy by the arm and bringing the player to the front of the park's gate.

Diddy: _If Goombella made a mistake, then it's all right. I'd be furious and ready to cry, but it'd be all right._

* * *

Both Diddy and McHallyboo stood besides the gate entrance from the outside at such an angle that they could only see a little fraction of the park's inside, a majority of the view blocked in such a way that they were unable to see any guests within the park, unless of course the guest were to step out themself. In this case, the potential guest was none other than Dixie Kong.

"So, you chose Goombella as your fate determiner," the host told him. "Any idea why?"

"I guess I'm surviving our coalition by doing that," Diddy said, his pronunciation of 'coalition' showing a hint of indecision.

"Goombella gave the guess of whether Dixie would ride the coaster or not seconds before Dixie had made her decision off-screen," the host explained. "If Goombella was correct, then Dixie will be coming out of the park just around now."

"Got it," said Diddy, his eyes focused on Pinna Park's gate. Taking a deep breath, he stood with a look of uncertainty on his face, one mixed as well with anxiousness and determination.

"Please," Diddy whispered slightly, his legs walking back and forth, moving more rapidly with each second that passed by. McHallyboo looked heavily as well.

"So is she not coming?" Wario said gruffly from the shore. "Did Goombella sabotage this game again?"

They waited in more seconds of silence as the first round went quiet, giving the players back at the shore less hope than ever. The first guess would set the mood for everyone, but as time ticked, hope was lessened. A figure exited the park.

"Dixie!" said Diddy, seeing the monkey of pink attire exit completely into view. Dixie turned around and hopped up with happiness, as did Diddy himself as he ran up to her, both giving cries of ecstasy in a tight hug. The six players back at the shore cheered, realizing their first round of success was worth it with the saving of coins and a sight of happiness.

"Oh, I missed you Diddy!" Dixie said, wiping tears that seemed to be held back for the entirety of the day up to that very moment.

"I missed you too," Diddy replied, tints of tears in his eyes and his grin even happier. "This game has been too empty."

Dixie: _Yay, so I got to see Diddy for the night! Home was just so lonely knowing that Diddy was elsewhere and amidst a complex game I've never heard about. I was just going…bananas!_

Diddy: _We did good. Goombella and I: up to this very point, we're definitely continuing our coalition and playing for each other. I couldn't ask for anything more than this reunion with Dixie, so I'm happy in more than one way._

Dixie: _I'm just so happy! I couldn't care less for the game really, but I wish Diddy wasn't so into it._

_

* * *

_

"Bobbery, inside," the host mentioned, as the second round began. The players watched the eldest player follow the same path Goombella had taken minutes before, knowing that in soon time, another fate of reunion or heartbreak would be revealed.

"So what did they do to you?" Yoshi asked Goombella, noticing her relieved aftermath look.

"Made you stressed," Goombella said, shrugging. "You have to decide whether they would ride or not. They show you the loved one on a screen, and bam! Ten seconds to decide. It's just terrible."

"So, intuition basically?" Luvbi asked. "It's a complete guess in other words." Goombella smiled slightly.

"I saw Dixie adjust her beret on the television screen though. So in a way, I knew she was going to ride it."

"Then it's not 100 percent guessing," Yoshi realized. "Maybe this game has those little hints that we could use in it. They've always helped us."

"Just like those little hints we've missed in every single game we've played so far?" Wario said stingily. "They're really going to help us." Goombella shook her head at his sarcasm.

"Okay, but hints give us a chance," Goombella said to him, "no matter how small or subtle."

"Well, I'm happy you did good," Vivian said thankfully, seeing both Diddy and Dixie in happy spirits near the gate's entrance. "Now we're all relying on Bobbery to do the same. I guess it must be stressful."

* * *

Both player and host inside the boat, Bobbery sat down with a bothered facial expression as he saw the two buttons at the middle of the table. He eyed the black television, half-expecting it to flash on.

"Well, I'm flattered someone picked a fellow like me as trustworty," Bobbery couldn't help saying.

"Any idea who it was?" the host questioned.

"Not the most diminutive clue," Bobbery replied honestly. The television flashed on, a slow static at first but finally clear enough to see what was going on. Though the quality was less than average, the figure at the ride's dock looked more than familiar to Bobbery.

"Well!" Bobbery said with a little assurance, seeing the skinny figure in purple and black attire. "It's Wario's good pal Waluigi, isn't it! I've seen him countless times."

"Actually, brother," the host said, then added under his breath, "and all that unnecessary speculating could have been confirmed with a simple test result." Waluigi stood at the ride's dock, his height glowering down at the ride attendant.

"So Bobbery, will he ride the roller coaster or will he not? The green button means yes, and the red button means no. If your guess is correct, then you will reunite the two brothers."

He moved the two buttons even closer to Bobbery's reach, as the VCR above the television flashed on with its number of ten, then nine, then eight, and so on. Bobbery frowned at the ridiculous time limit.

"Then I have no time to speculate!" Bobbery said, shaking his head. Looking at the screen once, he pressed down on the green button, his hesitation appearing non-existent. The timer and television then both flicked off as Bobbery frowned at the game overall.

Bobbery: _A guess was nothing else but a guess. So in a way, I felt my guess was correct. If your level of proof is at zero percent what more could you speculate?_

"So you guessed that Waluigi would ride the roller coaster, yes?" McHallyboo asked him. "Any reason?"

"Frankly there is no reason," Bobbery said flatly. "I just went with intuition. I assume that's what Goombella used as well. I'm not saying it's infallible."

"Let us see if it is," McHallyboo said, as both of them got up to exit the boat. As Bobbery was brought out the host went forth to bring Wario to the park's gate, as the round of balance begun.

* * *

"So Wario, your brother is your guest for tonight," McHallyboo informed him. The two of them stood to the right of the gate, unable to see what the park consisted of and which people had the potential of coming out. In this case, Waluigi, as Wario did his best to hide his anxiousness. Wario's eyes did show a level of worry, but his attitude remained the same.

"Pfft, he's asking for it when he appears," Wario informed the host. "I'm sure he used his craftiness somewhere back at home over the past few days. While I was gone!"

"Heh, like in what ways?" the host asked, amused.

"Probably throwing away all those garlic coupons and replacing them with eggplant ones instead. Fiend!"

"Well," McHallyboo laughed, "let's see the result. You chose Bobbery as your guesser, so let's see if his guess was correct." As the two of them looked on, so did all the others at the shore, as well as Diddy and Dixie who were brought to another section of the beach but still able to witness the remainder of the mission that was being played. For a while, no one showed up.

"Well?" Wario said impatiently. More time passed by, as McHallyboo looked at him.

"Wario, I'm afraid Bobbery's guess was wrong. You won't be able to see your brother, and 5,000 coins have been cost." Wario looked at the host, slightly stunned for a second. Then he looked down, his mouth twisted into a look of both annoyance and confusion.

"Well, I didn't want to see him anyway," Wario said, still looking down as he kicked at a speck on the floor that didn't exist.

"Please go over to the area of sand where Diddy and Dixie are located," the host directed. Wario did so grudgingly, as everyone watched, their mood since the first round having taken a direct and unfavorable turn.

**Winnings for Relative Ride: 20,000 coins**

* * *

Wario: _Why did I even choose Bobbery in the first place? If I can't even trust Bobbery, then I'm beat on who really is trustworthy in this game. For all I know I picked the wrong person, but I sure wasn't going to blame myself for it._

"Oh dear," Vivian said, her face full of hurt at the sight of Wario heading away with the absence of a loved one.

"I wanted to meet Waluigi also," Yoshi added sorrily. "I don't even know if they're actually brothers."

"They are," Luvbi spoke up. "A simple test confirmed it."

"The time limit wasn't logical," Bobbery told them all, shaking his head. "Ten seconds. The darn time didn't matter at all: it would have ended fifty-fifty by any means!"

"Oh, but," Goombella said regretfully. "I didn't get to tell you my technique. I mean, Dixie was wearing a hat too. I saw her adjust it with my own eyes. If they adjust it, then they're going to ride the roller coaster." Bobbery lessened his manner and looked sorry as well.

"And Waluigi did not," he recalled. The host came back from the gate and headed back towards the boat, not before turning around to call the next trustworthy player on the list.

"Bobbery, come with me," the host said, as all eyes turned again with disbelief and worry. After witnessing the second round, the players had little to be reassured about.

* * *

"Good riddance," Bobbery muttered, sitting down at the table for the second time. McHallyboo smiled, pushing the buttons closer to Bobbery.

"Same rules," the host explained. "Different person." When the television flashed on to display within Pinna Park, the figure at the roller coaster dock didn't bring familiarity to Bobbery's eyes, though he was able to make an assumption.

"A relative of Luvbi?" Bobbery assumed.

"It's Luvbi's father," the host informed. "King Grambi, king of the Overthere." The old figure was even older than Bobbery himself, looking engaged in a light-hearted conversation with the ride attendant.

"I assume you're ready," McHallyboo said with no warning, "The ten seconds begin now." Less taken back and more focused, Bobbery kept his eyes on the screen as if he were analyzing the psychology of the displayed king. Luvbi's father continued his mysterious conversation with the ride attendant.

Bobbery: _Though he was the ruler of all things in the sky, he was an old fellow. I was torn with the fact that this was much more difficult than my first round, which as we all know, ended disastrously. _

"Well, intuition once again, I'm afraid," Bobbery stated, pressing down on the green button as the television shut off. He leaned back in his chair, as so did McHallyboo curiously.

"Stressful?" the host smiled.

"Yes, of course," Bobbery told him. "And don't ask for my reason, sir. It was intuition again."

"Well, we know from the first round that intuition isn't infallible," the host pointed out, standing up, "but is it still trustworthy?"

* * *

Luvbi stood besides the host, looking between him and the terrible view of the gate that she was presented with. Taking a deep breath though she looked and smiled, still uncertain about the results that were going to rise.

"I'm not going to blame Bobbery for anything if my father is unable to see me," she said out loud. "I chose Bobbery because he was…questionable."

"Questionable?" McHallyboo asked, bemused.

"As the saying goes, keep your friends close, but for all accounts keep your enemies closer," Luvbi added. "Hence, I think this was quite the perfect chance for my way of thinking."

"Well, I must admit," the host said out loud, "even as host, I find that strategy intriguing and peculiar for a player."

Luvbi: _I was expecting Bobbery's guess to intrigue me. And what I've realized is, I have been keeping my enemies close this entire game. Wendy was one of them, but I didn't fully expect her downfall._

"Whatever helps, I suppose," Luvbi said with a small smile.

"Well, let's see if your father is indeed here," McHallyboo stated, as the two of them waited by the gate. As he finished his sentence, the wait grew, all players as well watching the gate and the loved one who was supposed to arrive. Time ticked by, as Luvbi's face still displayed uncertainty.

"Well, I didn't keep my hopes up to the maximum," Luvbi said after a few seconds, flustered. "It's utterly pointless to do so. I knew---oh!" A waddling, slow-moving figure caused Luvbi to run up to him, as both daughter and dad were reunited.

"Luvbi, my daughter," the king said tenderly.

"Father, I thought…well," Luvbi stated with a pause, elated and hugging him tightly. "Well, this game has all its turns."

"And so did that roller coaster!" her father replied with disbelief. "An odd, turning roller coaster that caused me disorientation. All I remember are ghastly thoughts of it!"

"Well, you didn't HAVE to ride it, father," Luvbi said teasingly.

"But are not we glad that I did?" he said with a cheerful smile, as the two of them went off along with the further cheer of the players.

Luvbi: _I am indeed thankful for this opportunity to be with family and be in comfort. I've been a stranger to this game since the beginning and I still am, so I needed this. _

Grambi: _It's an empty kingdom without my precious daughter. I'd rather have her than keep my role as the eldest and most superior Nimbi. _

Luvbi: _Oh father, you don't even want to be there anymore._

Grambi: _Yes, well, technically retiring fails to be one of my options._

* * *

"Yay, Bobbery!" Yoshi exclaimed, seeing both Luvbi and dad walk off with success. Three down, and they were tipping towards the better.

"Fifty-fifty," Bobbery said reasonably. "I failed one round but succeeded the other. And you have to admit it's reasonable with the fact that there were indeed just two buttons."

Vivian: _Bobbery is very good at using persuasive language…I think he was trying to make us think one thing about the way he played this game._

"So, we're going to save one of you," the host said, arriving back to their spot in front of the boat. The four remaining players whose relative fates were still to be constructed turned to the host.

"What do you mean?" Goombella said, turning to the host with puzzlement.

"Wait, how are we going to be saved exactly?" Vivian asked.

"Well, it's quite simple really," McHallyboo explained, "and it depends on what you speculate too. You can give up 5,000 coins, but I'll reunite one of you immediately with your loved one. I'll give you thirty seconds to decide." With pondering minds, the four players turned to each other.

"Well, someone propose a thought," Bobbery told them. "I think we've cost enough money this episode to afford any more losses. This one seems unnecessary to me."

"But what if this comes with an exemption?" Vivian thought.

"I kinda doubt it, since both Luvbi and I already won one each," Yoshi pointed out. "If three people had exemptions this episode it'd be kind of crazy."

"Well…this deal," Goombella thought. "It depends. I'm just not sure how to approach it."

Goombella: _When McHallyboo came to us with certain deals during the game, they never had a right or wrong answer. It just depended on whether it would be for the better, or ultimately for the worse._

"Five thousand coins," thought Yoshi. "It's the same price as not reuniting a loved one. But in this deal we _do_ reunite a loved one. So what says you?"

"Fifteen seconds," counted McHallyboo.

"Logical, but what if our final four rounds are all successful?" Bobbery considered. "Certainly it'd be a waste with that path."

"Well, it's a one out of sixteen chance," Yoshi thought, using his fingers. "I'd go with it. If we can save one person and let them see a loved one, then it's better than them not seeing their loved one at all, as well as losing 5,000 coins."

"Yeah, I don't think money is the issue," Goombella stated. "I'd rather have a win-lose than a lose-lose. I'd go with it."

"Me three," Vivian said.

"Okay, yes," Goombella told McHallyboo, despite Bobbery's look of dissent.

"Very well," the host stated. "Your winnings are now at 15,000 coins for this game, which is still a hefty sum. Now, one of you can access your loved one without the process of a game. Choose."

"I nominate anyone but myself," Bobbery stated right away.

Bobbery: _Gaining pleasure from a loss of money, it was like a sin in this game! Something terrible and detestable: an abomination. I couldn't do it._

"Well, I think we should nominate Vivian," Goombella spoke up. Vivian looked surprised, and even happier as Yoshi nodded as well.

"Okay, well," Vivian said, feeling glad and thankful, "I'll accept!"

"Please bring Beldam to the park's entrance," McHallyboo spoke into his walkie-talkie, pulling it out as quickly as he put it away.

"Oh, it's Beldam," Vivian repeated, her voice showing a hint of disfavor as the others laughed. Within moments, the eldest sister exited the park, looking a bit bedazzled but relieved. Never the less Vivian ran up to her as they embraced in a rather one-way hug.

"Oh Beldam, it's so glad to see you!" Vivian said right away. Beldam gave a sigh, one that had a hidden happiness in it though.

"Well, as long as you're staying out of trouble," the older sister replied in a snort. "So what has happened here anyway? What have you been up to anyway here?"

"Umm, a lot sis," Vivian explained, "but I'll tell you everything later!" With that, they headed to the growing pile of individuals on the other side of the beach.

Vivian: _I was glad that the other players trusted me enough to let me get the free pass. Now I won't be lonely!_

Beldam: _If the only reason I'm here is to keep you company for ONE day, then it's just not worth it…_

Vivian: _Oh sis, lighten up. This game is beyond anything you'd ever expect._

"All right, so who's the next victim?" Goombella wondered. "And the next loved one? Or rather, the next relative of the loved one? If I have to be a guesser again then I'm seriously dying."

"Goombella, come with me," McHallyboo ordered, answering her question. Taken back, the other two could only look with unhelpful faces as once again Goombella was pulled into the state of heavy decision.

* * *

Diddy: _Goombella going twice into the boat, I mean, for a second I got a bit suspicious that she was in a second coalition. I guess I'm being too paranoid, and paranoid over nothing too._

"Oh, why McHallyboo?" Goombella said in a half gasp of disbelief.

"Well, it can't be my fault that people consider you trustworthy," McHallyboo said with a grin, setting the familiar surroundings once again for Goombella. The television flashed on.

"Well, of course," she said with a roll of her eyes. On the screen was a figure that struck out to Goombella, as her eyes narrowed with recognition. It was an acquaintance of Bobbery's, dressed in full captain attire and who had purple distinguishable hair that curled down in a regal manner, and upon it, a red hat that was evidently near in mass value as the captain himself.

"Bobbery has Flavio to visit him," the host spoke to her. "Now it's you to make the decision. Will he ride, or will he not ride?" Goombella took both buttons into her possession, her analysis being temporary as she eyed the timid visitor on the screens. As Flavio adjusted the hat upon his head, Goombella smiled, as the timer slowly started its ticking down to the number zero.

"Well, this is my choice," Goombella said, pushing down on the green button, just as she had done on her first round. The television flashed off as McHallyboo turned to Goombella, surprised at her quick timing.

"Well, clearly you gained confidence, miss," the host said, still surprised at the curtailed round.

"Yes I have," Goombella stated, hiding her certainty. The two exited the boat as Bobbery, the fate determiner of two of his previous peers, was now being fated as McHallyboo brought him to the gate of Pinna Park.

* * *

"Well, my intentions in this game was for everyone to be saved," Bobbery said to the host. "I suppose I completely slaughtered that on the second round, I'm afraid." He gave out a chuckle.

"So Goombella was actually surprised to be picked again, just like you," the host told him. "Any reason you picked her as most trustworthy?" Bobbery shrugged to the host.

"Isn't she the most trustworthy in appearance?" he commented with opinion.

"Well, never the less, it's up to Flavio to appear," said the host. The two of them stood by the side of the gate, as time ticked. Bobbery furrowed his eyebrows heavily at the gate's entrance, Flavio either ready to come out any second or trapped in the park as a result of Goombella's wrong guess.

"Come on," Yoshi whispered to Goombella at the shore. "You got this. He's saved." But everything in view proved otherwise as Flavio continued to not appear.

"Sorry, he's not coming out," McHallyboo informed, as the Bob-omb looked regretful. "This round has failed as well."

"Oh, riddance," Bobbery said with a level of gloom and disappointment in his voice.

**Winnings for Relative Ride: 10,000 coins**

* * *

Bobbery: _It would be wrong to accuse Goombella of the very mistake I had made. I was entirely refraining from it even though I didn't want to._

"But...I mean, if was working," Goombella said, still shocked herself. "I thought, well…my technique didn't work."

"The hat technique?" Yoshi said, looking sorrily at Bobbery as he walked away without his shipmate.

Yoshi: _Goombella's hat theory had no logic in it. She tried to make it believable but it didn't even work when she used it._

"Well...yeah," Goombella said, slightly embarrassed. "A theory's a theory. What else was I supposed to say?"

"Now I have to sacrifice," Yoshi said with disfavor to himself. His face became more cheerless as he saw McHallyboo coming back to them, a player in his possession.

"Is she choosing for someone?" Goombella said with confusion.

"Yeah," Yoshi said, his eyes showing worry. As McHallyboo came to where they were, he had the player besides him, unsatisfied with the role that she was about to play next.

"This won't be in my favor," Luvbi said, following the host slowly into the depth of the boat.

* * *

Appearing completely new to the object of the game, Luvbi seated herself promptly at the table, the two buttons already in view of her.

"You're probably unfamiliar with the rules---"

"A loved one is displayed on the screen and I must swiftly decide their action of boarding the roller coaster or not," Luvbi said to McHallyboo. "I've been privy to the stories." The host nodded slowly, then flicked on the television. As the static cleared, a figure was standing at the dock that made Luvbi give an amused yet hesitant chuckle.

"Oh, it's Birdo," Luvbi noticed, the magenta-colored dinosaur on the screen chatting with no visible gestures to the ride attendant.

"If you predict she'll ride the roller coaster, press the green button," McHallyboo explained to her. "If you think she would refuse, then the red button would be your choice. If your guess is correct, then Yoshi will be reunited tonight." The timer on the VCR screen flashed on, counting down to the limit of Luvbi's choice.

"Personally, I don't know Birdo," Luvbi said obviously. She faced McHallyboo, then back to the two buttons before her. Looking at the screen and Birdo as well a final time, she closed her eyes and pressed down on the green button, giving a sigh simultaneously. As the television and timer disappeared she opened her eyes, looking less content than she had when she initially entered the boat.

"I can't be confident," said Luvbi. The host gave her a shrug, then asked his usual question.

"Any reason in your choice at all?" Luvbi looked back at the host, then at the two buttons, reluctant to shake her head.

* * *

"So Yoshi," the host said, as the two of them were standing at the same inappropriate angles as all previous players before, "Birdo was in fact player on our first season in The Mole: Traitor Aboard! She was also a fan-favorite if I'm not mistaken."

"She was!" was all Yoshi could say, his eyes glued to the side of Pinna Park's gate and waiting for Birdo's potential appearance.

"Surely you're at an advantage, your wife having been in your very spot. In fact, she met her demise in none other than Episode 4."

"Dang, well," Yoshi told him, "maybe if I knew I was gonna be on the same show in the future I would have asked her for buckets of advice. Or maybe just know what she did wrong so I won't be meeting my demise either this episode."

"Well, if you do meet your demise this episode then surely it's one for game show history," McHallyboo commented with a laugh, only to be met by Yoshi's death stare. McHallyboo coughed and looked at the gate as well.

"So if Luvbi was correct with her guess, then Birdo will be popping out any second from now," the host informed him. As Yoshi kept his long stare at the gate, he waited, his feet hopping slightly and involuntarily as the usual seconds ticked. His loved one was in the park, but her time of arrival was either immediately in seconds to come, or never.

"Birdo...you can make it," Yoshi said to himself with high hopes. "You were a winner in the first game. You can win this game too." He waited for his presumption to come true as more seconds passed by. Luvbi back at the shore held her breath, not bothering to open her eyes at the fault that could appear before her eyes, all due to her decision.

"Oh, thank goodness," Luvbi said out loud, brushing herself off. The pink dinosaur stepped out into view as Yoshi ran to her, both his arms and unnatural tongue flapping with excited happiness as Birdo stepped back with amusement. The two dinosaurs reunited as everyone in standing presence cheered, with the game coming closer to an end and giving an optimistic lift and outview to the final round, one that was still yet to come. Stepping down, Birdo also went up to McHallyboo and shook his hand with a laugh.

"Why, we reunite too, don't we?" McHallyboo spoke up, grinning ear to ear.

Birdo: _As soon as Yoshi got himself into this game I knew he'd reach my level, even more. He's just more designed for a game like this than I ever was a year ago._

Yoshi: _I'm gonna win this for you Birdo! I'll avenge you and get back at that Mole for causing your downfall!_

Birdo: _Toadette? Honey, she was just all right. I caused my own downfall, and hopefully you won't be doing the same. Just go with the right instincts._

* * *

The final decision was to be made. As Goombella waited outside the boat, both the host and player of trust were inside, a player of trust that Goombella had picked out herself which would determine the final money winnings for the mission.

"Oh, I can't believe she picked me," Vivian said weakly, having no choice but to sit at the table.

"Isn't that a compliment to be picked as trustworthy?" McHallyboo pointed out optimistically, as Vivian shook her head.

"Not in this situation." The television turned on for the last and final time, as the person at the roller coaster dock came into full view. The first thing Vivian noticed was that the guest was at same height as Goombella herself, though much older and vision impaired, with two spiraling plates for glasses that covered his eyes completely and made him appear even more as a professor.

"Professor Frankly," Vivian said to herself. McHallyboo brought the two buttons to her, cord connecting them to the television as both red and green orbs sat before her.

"Will Professor Frankly ride the roller coaster or not?" McHallyboo asked her, as Vivian looked at the screen, then at the host. "Green means yes, and red means no. Your time is short, and a reunion and five thousand coins depends on your guess."

"Okay," Vivian said, her voice sounding as relunctant as everyone else who had gone before her, as she rested her hands on both buttons, one of them to be pressed in soon time. The VCR flicked on.

* * *

**The episode comes to a final end next chapter! I'll be doing my best to get this soon, and by soon, sometime this week. =]**

**Your Final Destination clue arrives after much time! ****Can you get the word and its meaning? Who will be meeting their doom?**

CIROT SI HERP

**Don't forget to list your top three suspects! What will become of this mission and Vivian's decision? What further twists does the end of this episode have in store? And will it be the Mole's fault for the next execution? Stay tuned soon!**


	17. Save or Slaughter

**The end of Episode 4 is here! Twists and drama are revealed as the game loses one more.**

* * *

**Episode 4 **_**(Final Part)**_

Vivian panicked at the site of the low-value number that glowed red, changing with each passing number. The final decision was on her, as Professor Frankly stood with no sign of motion on the monitor. Closing her eyes she pressed the red button, then faced McHallyboo with a nervous smile.

"Okay, I said no," Vivian said, teeth clenched. "I don't think he would ride it, just because he's so old and is a professor."

"The final five-thousand coins depends on this," McHallyboo reminded her, "as well as the news of the final reunion."

"Goombella put her trust into me," Vivian said cheerlessly, "so if I get this wrong, I don't think she'll ever think that again." She was led out, as McHallyboo walked to the gate for the final time, Goombella following close behind him and waiting for the last answer of their game.

"Vivian is just trustworthy, despite what everyone thinks about her," Goombella said to McHallyboo. "I mean, I don't think anyone suspects her as the Mole, but they think she's an inexperienced player and everyone thinks they'll beat her." They stood by the gate, the clock drifting to 4PM as an early sunset was drifting into the sky.

"Well, here's the final result," McHallyboo said. "If Vivian guessed correctly, then you will reunite with Professor Frankly."

"Oh, I hope," Goombella said, looking at the gate. Feeling the tension from everyone around her across the beach, she waited, seconds passing as the sky seemed to change color in a pessimistic way. Goombella waited, face appearing less hopeful and turning more into a worried look.

"Goombella?" came a voice from the gate. Goombella hopped at the sight of her professor.

"Oh, I knew it!" Goombella said with a high level of happiness, running up to him with a smile.

"Why, if it isn't my star student, off on another adventure," Professor Frankly commented, then to Goombella's delight added, "and making me even more proud of what she's doing. Whatever crazy thing it is." At his appearance, the final pot winnings for the game were confirmed. The mission appeared complete for the day.

Goombella: _Yes, yes, I knew it. I knew I could count on Vivian. And we just ended this mission with a blast, so it was worth it._

Frankly: _Money based on whether I would ride a roller coaster or not! This world is getting more corrupt when it comes to betting._

* * *

As both student and teacher met at the beach, all players were reunited, most of them as well reunited with someone by their side of importance and comfort. McHallyboo came to their spot, looking somewhat pleased and having a look on his face that told everyone that there was something else he was going to mention, that would twist the status' of some of the present players. But none the less, he was there to give the final results.

"After the guesses and buttons of this game, twists and turns, and joys and anguishes that occurred, your mission ends with the winnings of ten thousand coins. Well done!" The applause that appeared was magnified, due to the occupancy of people being much greater and nearly doubled.

"I've heard enough money awards for a life time," Birdo couldn't help saying, as the others around her laughed.

"Most of you have been reunited due to this game, but unfortunately, Wario and Bobbery, your loved ones were not retrieved." Both players were seemingly out of place among the crowd, as they only looked with disappointed looks at the host.

Bobbery: _Couldn't believe a game could be so harsh. The shame that also followed for being alone was just far too great as well. I caused one of the downfalls, but I as well didn't deserve one too._

Wario: _I was just going to give a knuckle sandwich to McHallyboo for saying that line again. He was basically pointing out the obvious for no reason, maybe to just make me more mad at him than I already was._

"But in this game we always give chances, don't we?" the host said, and though the players strongly disagreed with the statement he just said, they were definitely pulled at a level of attention for the next part of their game. McHallyboo pointed to the boat across the beach, the one where the six rounds of their previous mission had taken place in.

"Both Flavio and Waluigi are in that boat," McHallyboo explained. "They can be saved, but the ticket for one of them to come off before the boat leaves is an exemption card." Almost immediately, all eyes turned to Luvbi and Yoshi, who both looked at McHallyboo incredulously.

"The boat is scheduled to leave back to the Mushroom Kingdom in about...two minutes, more or less," the host said. "Luvbi and Yoshi, it's up to you. But remember: once you sacrifice your exemption card, you're eligible for the execution tonight. You're throwing away all security. The only people to be at discussion here are Luvbi, Yoshi, Bobbery, and Wario." The guests, new to the format of the game, were taken back by its intensity. With unsure minds, they could only watch as the final part of the game was soon to be settled.

"Great," Wario said with disapproval. "Only two guys for persuasion. Now what am I supposed to say?" He looked at the two players who were holding the all-important cards in their hands.

"Well," said Luvbi, hesitant and looking at the players around her. "You don't have to say anything." Wario stepped up almost instantly to the two of them, his face glowering as he took his steps.

"Okay, two minutes," Wario said, his voice sounding more irate than anything. "You take this offer or I'll knock you all up!"

"Easy, Wario," Bobbery spoke calmly, then with a whisper said, "In times like this, we don't take the aggressive side." He turned to Yoshi.

"Lad, you'd be willing to take an exemption for a better cause, right?" Bobbery said with a smile. Yoshi remained silent.

"It's a simple, single night," Luvbi stated, holding the exemption card tightly in her own hand. "You've survived seven without someone of comfort. What has changed?"

"The fact that you all get to see your loved ones!" Wario said in a vehement voice. "You're making this harder than it is, so just give the cards!" Luvbi shook her head, still strong, but Yoshi looked down at the ground, still silent to himself and everyone around him.

"Just face it," Wario said, his eyes getting heavier with anger, focusing more on Yoshi. "How can you be so full of evil? How can you sleep tonight knowing what you did?" Some of the players present took Wario's statement strongly, disturbed at the true intensity the game was taking.

"Yoshi, can you?" Wario repeated, his voice almost at the level of a yell in question form. "Can you sleep tonight if you don't give in your exemption? Will you be able to sleep tonight, knowing the pain you're going to cause us all?" Yoshi shook his head, to Wario's satisfaction.

"You're a wimp regardless," Wario added, looking him in the eyes. "But you're more of a wimp if you can't give your card away."

"O...okay," Yoshi said insecurely, looking back at Wario. "I'm sorry. I'll give my card." He walked over to McHallyboo and handed him his card.

"I don't need it," the host said, then pointed to the boat in the distance, "but they do." As Yoshi trudged his way to the boat, some noticed the hurt expression on his face. Luvbi, a little shocked herself at Wario's words, continued to stand where she was, not bothering to take the same action.

"Your punches may succeed, but words can always be dodged," Luvbi spoke to Wario, her mood appearing strong. "You can't hurt me with vulgar words like you just displayed."

Diddy: _Dang, Wario just totally guilted Yoshi. He may appear big-minded, but I never knew he could coerce that strongly and speak so rough to somebody like that._

"Surely it doesn't affect us as much," Bobbery spoke, trying to get his point across to Luvbi, "but imagine being in our place. Your father, unable to see you, but with a possibility to see you in less than a few seconds." Luvbi's mouth opened slightly as her eyes met with her own father, who moved his head in a slight nod. Flavio stepped out of the boat and spotted Bobbery right away.

"Well, it's him all right!" Bobbery explained, standing tall as the entrepreneur walked towards Bobbery with a grin and a royal-like gait. Luvbi sighed, and swiftly turned around to walk towards the boat too, as everyone cheered. Or at least, almost everybody.

Goombella: _I didn't think Wario deserved anything after seeing his method of forcing people to do things. I would have thought that Luvbi or Yoshi especially deserved to keep an exemption, more than Wario deserved to see Waluigi._

Bobbery: _Wario took unneeded words, and I even displayed myself how taking the passive side and showing people politely was the proper way to go._

"Wha, you scared me!" Waluigi said, walking up to Wario as they gave each other a brotherly handshake. "I thought I came here all for nothing."

"Well, lighten up, you helped my place in the game even more," Wario couldn't help adding, as Luvbi turned to him with disgust.

"Oh, Flavio," Goombella realized, laughing as she went to greet him. "I predicted earlier that you were going to ride the roller coaster...oh, how dumb of me." Everyone laughed, as Flavio gave out a sheepish grin. McHallyboo looked at the sky, then back at the players.

"Well, players," the host spoke up, "let's get a bigger boat, shall we?"

* * *

The fact that they were eating at Durian Café for almost the fiftieth time didn't bore the players at all. Seven unfamiliar guests sat at the table that vitalized the game, as each player could chat comfortably for once and not worry about anything around them. Diddy, however, was clearly obsessed, writing in his journal from underneath.

"Diddy!" Dixie said with exasperation, snapping his journal shut. "Why do you have to keep on writing in your diary? We're eating food."

"It's not exactly a diary," Diddy whispered, "It's a journal. I'm tracking everything I remember. Sabotage, that ear piece chaos, and all that good stuff. And I'm focused right now." Dixie raised an eyebrow at him before sighing, turning to her own meal.

"All right," she said, grabbing a banana, then teasingly whacking Diddy in the head with the yellow fruit.

"Yoshi, your journal is important," Birdo said quietly, standing it up against her plate. "We didn't have one in Season 1. You can use this one to a big advantage."

"So what should I start writing?" Yoshi said, flipping through the pages to show Birdo his plethora of scribbles.

"People's reactions," Birdo instructed. "You know someone's different. So while everyone else has similar reactions, one of them will be acting different. Remember, you're at an advantage here. I'm your help." Yoshi nodded, a thankful smile on his face.

"Well, excuse me Vivian," Beldam spoke to her sister, "but you still haven't told me what this game is all about." She herself wasn't finding the food of Delfino Plaza to be favorable, her plate only having a few pieces of poached fish. Her sister however was clearly accustomed, having been at the same location for over a week.

"Oh sis, it's all about-"

"Someone's a saboteur, is that correct?" Professor Frankly spoke up. "Then according to my calculations, these seven have been fighting effortlessly to unmask this double agent. However, that's an overstatement. The real value of genuine and legitimate players is simply six, is it not Goombella?" Goombella laughed, nudging her professor and rolling her eyes.

"Father, this game doesn't have any trustworthy people," Luvbi whispered, turning to him first and then at every other person sitting at the table. "It's unnerving." She shook her head, reminding herself of the very fact by saying it out loud.

"Well, yes, I must agree," her father pointed out, pointing towards Wario's guest besides him. "His image is like he's plotting an evil scheme-"

"No, not currently, but the players themselves," Luvbi corrected. "What should I do when I'm aware that no one else is trustworthy?" The king shook his head slightly at her.

"Keep a keen eye, because there's at least one other trustworthy person in this game," he advised. "You just can't see them yet.." Luvbi nodded, and while turning back to her food, secretly smiled to herself. She went back to eating her crab cake.

"Why wasn't FLAVIO on this show?" the explorer besides Bobber exclaimed. "This succulent food, and all its ocean goodness...I'd like a glass of salt water to wash this all!"

"Eww," commented Goombella, as Bobbery only gave out a jovial laugh. Goombella turned to McHallyboo besides her.

"So, mister host," she said teasingly, "Any more missions that will scare us?"

"Yeah, like what you did just a few hours back?" Waluigi remembered, then nudged his brother and said, "This host is just more sadistic than I am, isn't he?"

"Known that since Day 1," Wario said, simultaneously staring at the host with angry eyes.

"Unfortunately, it appears there are no more missions for this episode," McHallyboo told them all. "But it's nice to see a few new faces around here after a while. Just brightens up my day. Or rather, night."

"Just coming here to Isle Delfino brightened up my day," Diddy's girlfriend said, stretching out her arms. "And seeing my boyfriend of course." Luvbi looked outside at the night sky, reminding her of the usual routine of the game and a certain aspect of it.

"The execution isn't tonight, is it?" Luvbi said with alarm. As McHallyboo shook his head, everyone sighed.

"Well, I believe our time of festivities ends tonight," Bobbery announced, holding up his glass. "Today was stressful, but we ended the day free of worry, didn't we? A toast to our most superior moment of relaxation!" Everyone agreed and shouted out, glass rims reunited, just as each player had done with their loved one throughout the course of the day. Half of them were leaving tonight, but the moment was treasured.

Vivian: _Just seeing everyone with family made me so happy! I'm sure everyone was letting go of the game and just enjoying the moment together._

Luvbi: _Well, my exemption simply vanished. I'm sure Waluigi didn't enjoy the celebration as much as the others did. In cases like these, my morals are mixed._

* * *

There was a full day's length before the next execution. The fact that their luggage was settled back in Ricco Harbor was forgotten by the players, as they took a final trip back to the industrialized port, Delfino Plaza no longer serving as their home for the game.

Each player woke up to a feeling of dragging dread, knowing that tonight they had a possibility of heading home in almost the same fashion as their loved ones had the previous night. With no mission for the remainder of the day the players found time to discuss deeply, focusing on what was happening in the game and what _had _happened as well. Diddy, Yoshi, and Goombella were inside the first house of Ricco Harbor's edge, the three of them in a single room.

"Why are we here instead of roaming outside?" Goombella said, taking a glance at the sun-shined sea outside the window and a slow-paced crane moving around.

"Because in here, we're completely confidential," Yoshi said, grinning and turning to Diddy.

"Yeah, what he said," Diddy agreed. "We're here to talk secret and to keep it a secret."

Yoshi: _The episode pretty much took the entirety of yesterday, so today was our collecting day, to reflect on everything that happened in the past twenty-four hours._

"Bobbery seems happier now," Yoshi told the others. "Either because of last night's happy dinner, or-"

"He knew that he completely sabotaged and butchered Episode 4," Diddy finished. Yoshi pointed to him excitedly.

"You read my mind!" he exclaimed, only for Diddy to hush him and look around cautiously.

"Hey, just because we're in a room doesn't mean we're completely sound proof," Diddy whispered, as the three of them turned to the door. Goombella shook her head.

"Did anyone find it weird out Wario just kept blaming me yesterday?" she decided to say. "Like, even though I kept on denying it, he was really strong about it."

"Yeah, his words are strong," Yoshi said bitterly.

"Maybe he thinks you're the Mole," Diddy said to Goombella. "Maybe he wanted you to confess and break loose your thoughts. But I know you're not the Mole, Goombella."

"Thanks," Goombella said gratefully. Yoshi's eyes averted from Goombella' direction to his journal, at his most recent page:

_Suspects for Episode 4__: _

_Goombella and Bobbery_

"Nah, I don't think you're the Mole either, Goombella," Yoshi said also, as Goombella smiled with relief.

"What I think is...the Mole probably likes blaming other people," Goombella said to them, thinking. "Maybe Wario was trying to switch the blame to someone else, and decided to pick me. Guys...maybe he was the one who tampered with the ear piece."

"Oh come on, you're calling the king of micro-games the Mole," Diddy said, giving her a ridiculing look.

"Well, it's possible," Goombella said, voice sounding tired. She sat down, eyes focused more on the carpeting than anything. Yoshi took out his journal and went over it, scanning each piece of info and keeping it away from Goombella. Diddy stood up and looked out the window, at first shielding his eyes at the level of light, but then spotting three other players outside. Little to any of their knowledge, they were engaged in a Mole-filled conversation as well.

* * *

"Well, Goombella could be the Mole," Vivian said, her voice sounding unsure. "But...like, she picked me as trustworthy in that mission. I just thought that was weird."

"And maybe she predicted you would lose the round, Vivian," Bobbery considered, looking up at the yellow house and barely missing Diddy's existence from the second floor window. "You know, someone like her could play the best role as saboteur, in my opinion."

"I agree," Wario butted in. "And come on, the ear piece incident wasn't an accident. Whoever thinks it was an accident is out of their mind. Goombella is the only possible person who could have done it." He looked around, then back at the hotel door, scratching his head with mystification.

"Where's Luvbi anyway?" Wario asked, appearing perplexed.

"She's in her room," Vivian informed them. "She had a deck of cards is all I know. And...well, she told me that she didn't want to be anywhere near you." As she said that sentence, she kept her eyes on none other than Wario.

"What?" Wario said, surprised himself. "All because of me?"

"Wario, your words against Yoshi were not liked by me in the smallest amount," Bobbery said sternly. "You don't force words like that, even within a game." Wario looked at the elderly player with a hint of regret, though still not truly seeing his own fault.

"Hey, but exactly," Wario argued, arguing his point. "It was a game. You all took my words way too seriously. I just wanted to see Waluigi and they weren't letting me."

"They did deserve their exemptions though," Vivian said with opinion.

"Well," Wario said, stepping away from the other two momentarily, "I'm writing their names down. They're two suspects I'm not letting go off." Journal in hand, he went against the wall and wrote down two names directly into his journal: _Goombella and Luvbi_.

"Oh dear," Vivian said quietly with realization. "My journal is practically…empty." Bobbery slipped his journal open that was in his possession, discreetly so the others didn't realize that he was reminding himself of his latest journal conundrum. Reading it carefully, he nodded:

_Main Sabotage:_

_Ear Piece. Potential Suspects: D G W V_

"Well, I need to complete some of my own journal entries, before I forget about them," he said to his two teammates, then turned to the window of the hotel once again, catching a movement in the corner of his eye. It wasn't Diddy this time, but Luvbi, who swiftly turned away from the window and returned to the solace in her room.

* * *

The lone player had a deck of cards in her possession, a few of the cards laid out on the carpet in a baffling fashion that only she could understand. On her left, the four kings lay face up along with a single ace. She looked at them hard, then picked the five cards up into her hand and shuffled them elegantly, her eyes closed at the same time.

"It's one of them," she said silently. Then, after her action of shuffling her short pile, took one card off from the top. Turning over slowly, it was exposed to be the ace card. Luvbi looked surprised, but then smiled, turning to see her open journal besides her and what she had written in it that morning:

_Plans of Today:_

_1. Test Possibilities_

_2. Unnerve enemies_

The Mole was tired.

* * *

The sky was as dark as it was the previous night, but the table they were eating at was a whole level gloomier. There was no longer the liveliness of last night but the quiet eating of the usual players as they ate within one of the Ricco Harbor houses. The other sound that was being heard was the constant paper flipping of their journals, as info was being collected for their upcoming quiz.

"This calamari is so raw," Goombella said, disgusted. Bobbery picked one for himself and was attempting to chew the rubbery seafood, but finally shook his head and spit it out.

"Well, Ricco Harbor," Bobbery pointed out, looking at the fisherman-esque dishes around the table. "What more can you expect?"

"Where's the fruit?" Yoshi said, voice disappointed. "We always have fruit somewhere."

"This dinner lacks of greens as well," Luvbi noticed, searching the table. "I'd really enjoy a seaweed salad if we're stuck in a place this."

"Wow, you guys are more worried about the food on the table than the execution tonight?" Diddy exclaimed, his plate nearly empty of seafood. "I guess I'm the only one who deserves to go through to the next round. Episode 5, and so on."

"Me too," Wario said, siding with Diddy as well as grabbing an entire fish head from the middle of the table, which apparently nobody else favored. "I mean, I'm as focused as anything and I guess I'm making it to the final round. With Diddy, and the Mole."

"I apologize for tonight's dinner," said McHallyboo, "and I apologize for...this." He took out a piece of soaked paper from his pocket, careful to prevent it from tearing. The ink on it still visible and legible, all players got a closer look at the message from none other than the Mole, wherever McHallyboo had achieved it from:

_**I'm tired...tired to do anything proper today. My body **_**m**_**ust ache.**_

_**Tired of all of you...you think you got me. But I secretly get back at you. Hope tonight's a disappointment.**_

_**-Moley-oley**_

"Moley-oley...hmm, does that mean anything?" Vivian repeated. The players looked harder at the piece of paper, as McHallyboo continued to eat his food.

"Tonight, it'll be up to you to decide who's trustworthy, and who's not," the host told them. "You'll all be taking the fourth quiz...soon." As the Mole looked at his or her own paper in the middle of the dinner table, the players' stomachs turned, not only at the looks of their leftover food but at the news that McHallyboo excitedly announced to them so many times that day.

* * *

The laptop was situated in a single room, in a house that none of the players had occupied as a sleeping quarter the night before. Led into the house closest to the entrance of Ricco Harbor one by one, they took their ten-question quiz about the Mole, separately.

_**1. What gender is the Mole?**_

_**-Male**_

_**-Female**_

The Mole chuckled to themself, answering the first question with ease.

_**2. What was the Mole's role in Race of the Rides?**_

_**-A Rider**_

_**-A Roamer**_

Luvbi: _So Diddy keeps on assigning roles to people, even up to this episode. He's made it so accustomed to us that we overlooked it. Maybe that was his plan, to keep everyone thinking it's simply just something normal._

Wario: _Even though I mostly focused on Goombella during the Race of the Rides game, I just had to add Vivian to my list of suspects. I mean, she could barely talk during her roller coaster round. That was the most suspicious thing that struck out to me._

_**3. How many times did the Mole ride the roller coaster during the first mission?**_

_**-Once**_

_**-Twice**_

_**-Three times**_

_**-None**_

Vivian: _When Bobbery rode the roller coaster, he had a large amount of time to answer his questions. But he rushed through them, only got one correct, and had to spend the remainder of the ride question-less. With all the ear piece chaos, I'm sure we overlooked small stuff like him._

Goombella: _Wario had the ear piece directly in his pocket when he handed it to me. If Wario's the Mole, then I'm the only one who knows that._

_**4. During the first part of Relative Ride, was the Mole able to see their loved one?**_

_**-Yes**_

_**-No**_

Luvbi: _Both Bobbery and Goombella had to do two rounds during Relative Ride, but failed a round each. Putting myself into the Mole's position, I would have done the same thing, shifting innocence by saving one person but at the same time costing money._

_**5. The Mole's loved one had what relation to them?**_

_**-Girlfriend/Wife**_

_**-Professor**_

_**-Shipmate**_

_**-Sibling**_

_**-Parent**_

Bobbery: _Birdo being Yoshi's loved one, would that be allowed? She was a player on our very first season and probably knew all the secrets to this game, giving some illegal tips to Yoshi during her stay. I would have banned her from coming._

_**6. Has the Mole every obtained an exemption so far? **_

_**-Yes, and used**_

_**-Yes, but taken/given away**_

_**-No**_

Yoshi: _I don't suspect Luvbi, but the thing that I noticed is that she's been grabbing all the exemptions in this game. Maybe she's trying to keep the game fair by preventing genuine players from getting them. If she's the Mole, they serve no use to her._

_**7. How many times was the Mole brought into the Relative Guessing Boat?**_

_**-Once**_

_**-Twice**_

_**-None**_

Diddy: _I've rarely seen Vivian using journal. Does she even know what it's used for? Or maybe she's the Mole and doesn't need to take notes. Possibilities, possibilities._

_**8. Which house of Ricco Harbor is the Mole currently sleeping in?**_

_**-The Yellow House**_

_**-The Blue House**_

Diddy: _I thought Goombella was crazy for thinking Wario could be the Mole, but I mean, he would be a perfect choice. If I was a producer on this show I'd definitely pick him to be the Mole. But for some reason, I just doubt it._

_**9. The Mole's loved one reached the roller coaster dock in what order during Relative Ride?**_

_**-First**_

_**-Second**_

_**-Third**_

_**-Fourth**_

_**-Fifth**_

_**-Sixth**_

_**-Never**_

Bobbery: _This game is tense, and is going to become more tense as the Mole's intelligence grows in this game. The longer they're here, the more they've become adapted, and by becoming adapted, they know the players even more. We're entering another level of threat._

_**10. Who is the Mole?**_

_**-Diddy**_

_**-Luvbi**_

_**-Yoshi**_

_**-Vivian**_

_**-Wario**_

_**-Goombella**_

_**-Bobbery**_

* * *

Directly across from Ricco Harbor's main entrance was a short building of multi-structure: having three gates, it appeared as if three small-sized storage buildings were wedged together into one. The middle gate was raised open as the players entered into the dark quarters.

"Come, take your seat," McHallyboo said, as if he was preparing something for all of them. The players took this routine as regular as they were each seated, their chairs slightly farther away from each other than normal. In front of them all was a television. Besides each seat and hooked to the television laid a hand trigger.

"What's going on?" Yoshi asked, looking at the slime that covered the floor like a penetrable carpeting.

"This is the slaughter house," McHallyboo told them all, as each player looked at him with realized horror. "It's cleaned every night, and the smell is long refreshed due to health restrictions. An appropriate place for your last mission of this episode, isn't it?" The players turned to McHallyboo in shock, the twist of their episode about to be announced.

"You said there weren't anymore missions!" Diddy shouted out to the host . McHallyboo smiled, knowing that his sentence at last night's dinner was taken out of context.

"What are we going to do?" Luvbi said, sighing and knowing that their game was already in motion.

"This mission is called Execution Roulette," the host announced, as the television flicked on. This time, something else was displayed on the monitor besides the usual green thumbprint: a green circle divided evenly into seven sections had each of their names in it, a piece of the circle holding a name each respectively. The title of their mission was displayed clear at the top of the screen in red text.

"Now, this is how the game works," McHallyboo began, his voice more serious. "One by one, a name will be selected among the circle pieces. That person will then face the execution screen, and will have their fate determined. But, before they're up to the actual screen, three chosen players can choose to save them." The players listened even closer.

"If the player about to face the execution screen is saved, they are skipped over and exempt from execution for tonight," the host continued, as the players immediately looked at each other hurriedly, though with anxious confusion.

"Exempted?" Bobbery said with a scoff.

"Every player who is selected to be saved from tonight's execution will add 3,000 coins to the pot, as well as each person who is not chosen by the circle at all. However, it will be to the decision of just three players to save them, chosen at random as well. If a person is not chosen to be saved, they will be fated to face the execution screen. You can earn the full 21,000 coins tonight by not allowing an execution tonight, or lose it through your own selfishness to save another. Let the games begin."

Every one of them watched the monitor to see a shade of red on the screen, rotating wildly within the circle and going over every one of their names, as the players could only watch anxiously at the first selected victim. When it was done moving, only one area of the green circle was the color of red: Goombella's.

"What?" she said with confusion, as three names appeared towards the side of the circle: **Luvbi, Wario, Vivian**. A number **20** as well flashed to the other side of the circle, counting down. All eyes turned to Goombella.

"Guys," Goombella said, turning to see the other three whose names were on the screen. "Guys, you can save me. The triggers!." All players turned to the triggers which existed by all of the seats, cords scattered everywhere and all leading towards the monitor.

"I'm always helping the team," Goombella said, her eyes filled with worry.

"More like sabotaging whenever you can," Wario snorted, watching the time to tick to **15**. "We shouldn't even be playing a game like this."

"But this is a mission!" Goombella pointed out to him. "If you don't save me, then you're sabotaging this very second. Three thousand coins are at risk."

"You think money is in relevance?" Luvbi spoke to her. "Not right now. I want to play this fair."

"We can play this fair!" Goombella said with realization. "We can all be saved tonight! And then earn 21,000 extra coins for us all!"

"I want to play fair too!" Wario explained to her. "And by that, _no one_ is being saved tonight. That's my final word." Vivian looked hesitantly at the trigger on the floor besides her, then back at Goombella, whose face displayed a look of panic. The timer continued to shrink.

"You deserve to be saved," Vivian said out loud, confidently picking up the trigger on the floor besides her and pressing down on it. "You trusted me, and now I trust you." At that instant, everything to the sides of the green circle vanished, and to Goombella's relief, her piece within the circle as well. As she looked at Vivian with a wholehearted smile of thanks, the red shade went crazy once again. Finally, it stopped, Wario's piece in the color of red.

"Oh, you're joking me," Wario muttered, as three names flashed along with the twenty-second timer: **Yoshi, Vivian, Goombella.**

"Oh, look now," Goombella said, a satisfied look on her face. Wario glared at her, then looked back at the screen, then to the selected other players sitting in the chairs besides him.

"Well, we're aiming for everyone to be saved, right?" Wario decided to speak up, giving a false smile to Vivian whose trigger was back on the ground. "Good job Vivian in the first round! Now just press the button again."

"Hold it," Goombella spoke quickly, turning to Wario fully. "You didn't want to save me like, two seconds ago. Now what?"

"I said I'm keeping it fair!" Wario explained to her, as Vivian looked hesitantly at her own trigger. "Since you were saved, we should all be saved!"

"No, don't save him!" Yoshi spoke out loud, as all eyes turned to him. "He verbally attacked me! He's just going to do it to you next!"

"Wha? No!" Wario exclaimed. "That was all part of the game!"

"No it wasn't," Yoshi said bitterly. "The way you play this game is getting worse and worse. Out of all people, you don't deserve to be saved at all."

"You're the biggest liar here," Wario groaned, as the timer ticked to a new number: **5**.

"Vivian!" Wario growled at her.

"No, don't!"

"I…" Vivian said, as the timer expired. At the sight of the number zero, everything on the screen vanished, leaving only the usual green thumbprint background to be displayed on the monitor.

"It's all your fault!" Wario shouted, as McHallyboo turned to the keyboard next to him, typing in the fated player's name.

"My fault?" Diddy said, sitting back in his chair, thankful that his name was not mentioned even once. "Don't blame me. I'm just sitting here and watching the drama unfold."

**W-A-R-I-O**

"If I'm executed, then you're all put to shame," Wario said, glaring at all three of them. "Every one of you."

******...**

**...**

**...**

**...**

**GREEN**

As Wario gave a look of shock and relief, the circle appeared once again, the red shade spinning and spinning with just five pieces of the circle remaining. Once it fell flat, only one of the pieces remained the color of red: Yoshi's.

"No!" Yoshi gasped, seeing his own name selected. As the timer started its count down, three other names appeared immediately: **Diddy, Luvbi, and Bobbery**.

"Please, guys," Yoshi begged, turning towards his three fate determiners. "Don't do this to me!"

"I'm…staying neutral again," Luvbi said with certainty. "I cannot justly tilt this game. This game is just unjust itself. Yoshi, my apologies."

"Diddy!" Yoshi said, turning to the monkey. "I'll help you! Just save me and I will, I promise!"

"Yosh, I mean, you did good," Diddy said to him. "But anything to make me survive, Yoshi. Don't take this wrong, you know?" As Yoshi gave him a look of disbelief, the timer ticked to **10.**

"But I'm your friend, right?" Yoshi said, becoming more panicked as the timer got closer to ending. "I don't deserve this at all! Please don't let me face execution!"

"Yoshi, when blaming Wario for his vulgar actions the other day," Bobbery pointed out to him, his voice almost in a scolding manner, "you did just the same back. I believe you both deserve equal, I daresay, punishment." Yoshi hung his head as the timer ticked down, numbers headed towards zero.

"But what you did do was sacrifice for a good reason," Bobbery added, reaching for his trigger. "And no good deed goes unpunished. I guess you have been punished enough, haven't you?"

As Bobbery pressed down on the button, Yoshi let out an overpowered sigh as his piece dropped out of the circle. With only four names left, the red shade spun more and more, this time, landing on its fourth piece. Luvbi's piece was now red, as she was next to face judgment.

"No," Luvbi whispered, looking at the names that appeared on the monitor as well as her own: **Wario, Goombella, and Diddy**.

"Obviously I'm not at a good position," Luvbi said, rolling her eyes as she watched the timer tick down. "But I beseech you: show mercy."

"Oh, give me a break," Wario said to her immediately. "You even said yourself that this method of saving people was unjust."

"Of course I did," she replied. Diddy laughed, holding his own trigger in his hand for fun, watching the time tick by on the monitor in front of them all.

"So basically you screwed yourself over," Diddy laughed, as Luvbi shot him a look that showed resentment. "Now it's your turn, and because you're not trustworthy enough, no one's gonna choose you!"

"Oh, you're talking about yourself as well, aren't you?" Luvbi shot back. "What goes around comes around." Diddy looked back at the circle on the screen and shrugged, letting his trigger drop to the floor.

"Luvbi…," Goombella decided to speak. As she shook her head, Luvbi faced the monitor with full attention, the circle disappearing and instead displaying nothing but the green thumbprint. McHallyboo turned to the keyboard and began entering her name in.

"Let this be decided," Luvbi said, her voice directed to everyone around her, including the host. He pressed the enter button.

**L-U-V-B-I**

******...**

**...**

**...**

**...**

**GREEN**

The roulette started spinning once again as Luvbi's face displayed a look of half reassurance and half surprise. Rotating on the remaining pieces left in the circle, it spun further and further as the red color went over each of the three remaining pieces.

"Please not me," Vivian said audibly. It stopped on Diddy's.

"Me, finally," Diddy said to himself, then faced to see the names that appeared besides the circle: **Bobbery, Yoshi, and Wario.**

Diddy: _I was really hoping for Goombella's name to appear, but dang. Now I needed to persuade these three. _

"None of you have anything to lose," Diddy said in his chair, looking at Wario and Yoshi.

"Pfft," Wario said with a shake of his head. "I haven't saved anyone up to this point, and after Goombella ruined up the first round, I'm not bothering to save anyone anymore."

"I didn't ruin anything!" Goombella argued. "You, Wario, just like blaming people." Wario's faced displayed a slight second of worry at her sentence.

"Diddy, you didn't save me," Yoshi said quietly, looking down at the slime-covered ground. "So I can't save you. I'm…sorry." As Bobbery shook his head too, the timer read **5.**

"Vivian and I can't just battle each other," Bobbery said, finding the possibility immoral for the game. "If you survive though, then…I guess it must be so." As the timer expired, McHallyboo entered Diddy's name in the screen.

**D-I-D-D-Y**

******...**

**...**

**...**

**...**

**RED**

The television shut off completely. Most of the players were left stunned but relieved from all the ended tension, but it had come at a cost. A player was eliminated.

"Episode 4 is over," McHallyboo announced. "You earned 12,000 coins from this mission. Diddy, come with me." Shaking his head and still keeping the same face, the executed player stood up hastily and went to follow McHallyboo, out of the building, and away from all the filth it held inside.

* * *

"That was rough," Diddy said, shaking his head. "Totally unfair." He didn't appear completely upset though as he followed McHallyboo towards their hotel rooms, towards his packed baggage which signified his end game.

"Well, I guess the final surprise got you, didn't it?" the host said, smiling. Diddy shrugged, then managed to let out a laugh.

"You got me again, McHallyboo," the executed player stated. "You're trickier than that darn Mole, I tell you."

* * *

"Wow," Goombella said, still in a bit of shock as they all seemed to stare at the blank television screen. The mission had taken a toll on all of them.

Goombella: _There went my plan and my coalition. It completely sucked to a huge level._

"I feel like I killed somebody," Yoshi spoke up, still looking at the ground.

"Like, I feel bad," Vivian said to the others. "What if Diddy was actually one of the highest scorers? We all got exempted and he didn't deserve that at all." The gate open, the night sky filled up the slaughterhouse with light, as more of the hideous slime was made visible to them all.

"Well, I guess there's nothing we could have done," Wario said, feeling sorry himself. "Diddy was just left to be fated."

* * *

"I think we all played good," Diddy said to the host, grinning. "Me especially, right McHallyboo?" The host laughed and nodded slightly, agreeing entirely to his statement.

* * *

"Diddy was a fine lad, from the every beginning," Bobbery said a nod, "and that's no stretch. He really was a great player from the start."

"Everything he did…well, he bought so much drama," Luvbi said, as everyone agreed with amusement, "but it was needed to keep us alive."

(_flashback __**Diddy **__when deciding the roles for Race of the Rides__**:**__**"**__And if anyone has the guts to disagree with me, then tell me." (all players roll their eyes at him)_

"I thought he actually could have been the Mole on the first day," Goombella remembered with a smile. "I guess I was able to trust him more and more."

(_flashbacks of Diddy sitting keenly within the airplane of their first mission, and of being chased by Wendy on the beach during the second mission of the game)_

* * *

As the boat appeared at the harbor, Diddy and the host waved at it.

"Well, I'm going to miss this of course," Diddy told McHallyboo, then looking to see the rest of the players from within the slaughterhouse.

"The games, the excitement…" The host handed something to Diddy, something that was of high importance to him as Diddy grabbed it with realization: his journal.

"You have your diary, don't you?" said McHallyboo, as Diddy smiled again. Feeling the sadness get to him, Diddy boarded upon the boat quickly as the door slid closed, McHallyboo once again forced to watch another player depart from the game, and all of the adventures it held.

Episode four was over.

* * *

**A victim faces execution, and in a rather execution-y way as well! **

**So what does next episode store? And what exactly did the Mole's sea-soaked message mean at dinner?**

**The website is updated. Only six remain! The Mole is slowly being unmasked as they continue to disappear. But just which player could it be? **

**Stay tuned like always, and thank you all! Please drop in to review as well =)**


	18. Shooting the Players

**Episode 5 begins! Enjoy! Phew, finally, no? X.x**

* * *

**Episode 5**

_The Mole's game narrows down, and only six are left._ _After last night's grueling execution, it was Diddy who failed to be saved as he faced elimination. He was the most enthusiastic player without a doubt, his dedication to the game being far stronger than any of the others. But now that he's gone, everything of him has vanished. Six players continue this game like the bullets in a revolver, slowly firing one by one. But of course, one bullet is a dud, the one unable to leave this game by any means. A trick to the others: The Mole._

* * *

**Luvbi**

_Surname: _Nimbis

_Birthday: _May 5

_Occupation: _Harpist/Oracle

**Wario**

_Surname:_ Garlimo

_Birthday:_ September 29

_Occupation:_ Moneylender/Explorer

**Vivian**

_Surname:_ Shadens

_Birthday: _October 4

_Occupation:_ Visual Display Artist

**Yoshi**

_Surname: _Dino

_Birthday: _April 13

_Occupation: _Fruiterer/Waiter

**Bobbery**

_Surname:_ Keelers

_Birthday:_ August 17

_Occupation:_ Admiral

**Goombella**

_Surname: _Frankster

_Birthday: _April 16

_Occupation:_ Archeologist

* * *

Goombella: _Oh, my gosh. There goes my coalition with Diddy. Just when Diddy and I began to know we could trust each other, one of us leaves the game. Just twist after twist, isn't it?  
_

Wario: _I am just lost at the moment. I thought Diddy was going to make it farther, not be executed at an early episode just like last night._

Bobbery: _Diddy had a lot of potential as a player. It's a shame knowing that certain people were meant for certain things, but unfortunately are cut short._

Vivian: _I feel like I'm slowly being fixed into this game. I really don't like how everything I know is changing around me, but I guess it has to._

Yoshi: _Since this is a new episode, we have to remember everything we know and see. Absorb info like a sponge._

Luvbi: _I'm glad I'm alive. I didn't need to be saved to enter into this fifth round. If someone thought I wasn't trustworthy enough to be saved, then I guess he found himself out of this game._

* * *

Breakfast was well prepared, causing the disorganized supper of last night to be quickly forgotten. The food on the table neutralized the aroma of the fishy port, setting an appropriate breakfast room with a good scent for the six players. But as they arrived to see their assortment of food, one other object on the table caught their attention for the fact that it did not belong among a variety of culinary visuals: a camera.

"A camera on our breakfast table," Bobbery stated, as they all looked at it, taking their seats one by one.

"Is it a video camera?" Vivian said cautiously. The others continued to look at the device. It was a digital camera, block-shaped with its lense protruding out from its body.

Luvbi: _Obviously, this was not just going to be disregarded. Even a piece of green lint on a table is significant, when playing this game._

"What is this thing anyway?" Wario questioned, picking it up. Finding no use for it, he wrapped the hanging neck strap around the device, then set it back on the table, as the players continued to direct no more attention to it.

"Perhaps our mission has begun," Luvbi considered, eating a fish-shaped croissant. "Maybe the camera holds clues for all of us."

"Oh, apologies," came the host's voice, coming from behind, swooping over Vivian to grab the camera. "This is mine. Enjoy your breakfast."

"Mmhmm," said Goombella, not bothering to take her eyes off the host as he put the camera around his own neck.

* * *

The players packed their bags to their next location. Ricco Harbor was never to be visited again, something that didn't disfavor to any of the players at all, especially since that location held a terrible aroma and held the location for one of their most corrupt missions. Still feeling the aftermath of Diddy's execution, the players could only sit in lessened silence as the boat traveled further to the game's next location.

"Well," Luvbi decided to speak up to break the continuous. "We're a group of cutthroats, aren't we?"

"What do you mean?" Vivian asked her, confused.

"Yesterday, we showed more true colors," Luvbi pointed out, "didn't we?" Goombella looked slightly at Wario, then to the ground.

"Well, it was a game," Goombella defended, as Yoshi nodded with agreement.

"That's the same excuse I used!" Wario spoke up, probably grumpy with the fact that it was the early hours of the days. Bobbery was looking out to sea, but listened to everything being said.

Bobbery: _We used to be ten companions. From personal analyzation, it's a bit apparent that the less people there are in the game, the more vicious we become. _

"Well, a game is a game," Bobbery told them. "But morals shouldn't change within a game. Like, when offered to grab an exemption as an example. Goombella, you'd probably refuse it. Luvbi, you'd take it without a tint of hesitation." As Goombella nodded, Luvbi looked offended.

"Oh, fibs," Luvbi said to him. "I only grab exemptions in reach."

"Well, you're right about reach," Wario said with a snicker. "Reaching for Diddy's pocket to steal an exemption that didn't even count for you." Luvbi glared at him.

"I see no use looking into the past," said Yoshi. "Today's a brand new day. The Earth made a cycle, right?"

"You're right," Goombella said, taking a small sigh. "There's no use looking into the past, especially right now."

"Well, I'm always keeping the past in my possession," said Bobbery. His voice has the sound of reassurance as he gave his journal the gentlest and most thankful of pats.

* * *

The players were brought to a remote side of Isle Delfino, to a gigantic land piece that hid a majority of what lay inside. After a complex entrance into the area involving the usage of a tour guide and the host's map, the players could barely comprehend the village they had entered: a large crater had apparently sunk into the mountain range, and from it grew a tree of enormous measure. The platform that branched out from the sides of the tree was where a whole miniature village was located, and in the very middle, a tree protruded that bared resemblance to the heads of the species they had encountered far too many times during their adventure.

"That tree looks oddly in resemblance to a Pianta head," Bobbery realized, looking ahead at the village's tallest existing object.

"Well, it's no surprise," McHallyboo said to them. "This is Pianta Village."

"By all means," Bobbery said with surprise, remembering a mention of the village itself.

"This place is so weird," Vivian said, looking down and noticing mushrooms in an array of color under the village platform. In front of them was the bridge to enter into this unfamiliar civilized living, one of proportionate wonders to them. As they crossed the bridge though, they came to the traditional village life and realized that it was no different than any other part of Isle Delfino. Mushroom littered the area and served as shade for the tired, and bamboo constructions served as building blocks for the small town. The players smiled, liking the location for their next game.

"I bet this place would look so much prettier at night," Goombella imagined, looking slowly at the sun that was blocked by the huge leaves of the towering tree. Piantas walked and ran the path, most of them eyeing the new visitors with curiosity.

"So let me guess," Wario said, looking around their area. "We're going to be taking pictures of something? Hopefully not a Pianta."

"Pictures?" said Yoshi.

"The camera, remember" Wario said, shrugging. "I'm just guessing."

"Well, before we get to our game, I'd like to make a little analysis," McHallyboo said, turning to them and acting as a blockade to prevent any of the players from taking a step more into the village.

"We're here at Episode 5," he said to them. "Four grueling executions, and the six of you still remain."

"Obviously and fortunately," Luvbi confirmed.

"But of course," continued the host, a small gleam appearing in his eyes, "one of you is the Mole, making it to the end. Of course, the Mole has to be of high intelligence. Possibly a university student with advantages." As his eyes turned to Goombella, the eyes of the surrounding players as well turned to the individual, who was caught off guard by the actions of her peers.

"O...kay," Goombella said, letting out a laugh and swirling her ponytail around.

"Or, perhaps the image of someone who is quite the opposite," McHallyboo said, as they all looked at him with confusion.

"Someone who is loaded with a sense of greed and therefore isn't here for the money," he continued. "Someone who just doesn't appear to be it." All players turned to Wario, who looked back at the host hard.

"Or could it be one from old money, and living quite high from the rest of us and possibly the saboteur?" considered McHallyboo, as Luvbi stood straight in her spot, her eyes diverting from the host to the players around her.

"A dinosaur, doing a job of harm rather than helping?" Yoshi tilted his head to one side and looked at the host as well.

"How about someone who can have the will and capacity to sail to a place like this, gaining respect in more than one way?" McHallyboo spoke out, as Bobbery gave a nod and a grin to the host, realizing his sentence had come up.

"And a player, as innocent as she may seem," McHallyboo said, as Vivian looked at the ground quickly, smiling. McHallyboo smiled as well.

"But of course, that's not something for me to ponder about," he finished. "Now, let's introduce the next game, shall we? Before we begin and choose your very important roles, I'd like to mention that one of you has the possibility of gaining an exemption this very mission."

"Heh, choose roles," Wario spoke up, imitating a previous player. "Luvbi, you get the exemption. Yoshi, roam the place. Bobbery, sail around the world." The others laughed with recent remembrance, nodding and amused.

Goombella: _With Diddy gone, it just changes the game a lot. He was almost our leader, so the game was definitely a step different than before._

"The player who will take the role as exemption hunter is the player who was first to touch the camera at this morning's breakfast," McHallyboo pointed out. The players looked at each other, none of them completely sure of the answer but the Mole.

"That was...Goombella?" Yoshi said, fingers pointing everywhere. "Wario? Me?"

"I barely even remember the camera at all," Vivian admitted.

"It was indeed Wario," the host announced, as Wario's face turned into a surprised but thankful grin. "Wario, your job in this game is the role of Camera Hunter. Congratulations, because that role is exemption-worthy for this mission."

"All right!" the man in yellow bellowed, taking a camera from McHallyboo, as the others all looked at him with a tint of jealousy.

"For the rest of you, you'll all be in a team and play the main part of this mission," McHallyboo explained. "I want one person who is helpful from above, someone who is helpful from below, and three camera shy people."

"Helpful from above," Bobbery said immediately, turning to Luvbi. "Volunteer yourself."

"I'm afraid I'm too knowledged for this game to do that," Luvbi said, shaking her head.

"What does that mean? Goombella asked, baffled and laughing.

"Can I be a camera shy?" Yoshi volunteered.

"What I'm saying is, the roles are definitely not as they seem," Luvbi continued. "Episode 3: those who volunteered not to work ended up working. It's been constant like that."

"All right, then," Bobbery reconsidered, "Would you like to be the person who is helpful from below?"

"Gladly," Luvbi confirmed.

"I'll be camera shy with Yoshi," Vivian said out loud, going over to his side.

"I guess I'll be helpful from above," Goombella spoke, volunteering herself. Bobbery went over to join the camera trio.

"Well, roles are set," McHallyboo said gladly. "This mission is called Snap to See, and it'll involve a wild goose chase around this village. Those who volunteered to be camera shy: you will be the photographers. Your objective is to bring me six certain photographs before the half-hour time limit is over." The players grinned, a bit excited but completely unsure of their game. Wario's grin shined more than the others with the most excitement.

"Luvbi, you will be down at the mushrooms," said the host. "Attached to a cable, you will have to make your hops from fungi to fungi and retrieve Picture Objectives.."

"Hopping on mushrooms?" Vivian said, giggling, while Luvbi rolled her eyes.

"The Mole in Season 1 wasn't truthful," McHallyboo added, "but she's the only truth in this second season." Luvbi nodded carefully as the host turned to Goombella.

"Picture Objectives must be relayed to Goombella," the host continued. "Goombella, you will be up on that yellow mushroom of sparkling gold." They all turned in the direction of McHallyboo's point, as Goombella nodded.

"Goombella, you will have a walkie talkie that connects to the earpieces of all three photographers. You must relay the Picture Objectives descriptions achieved by Luvbi to them, to direct them to exactly what photographs they need. For each successful Picture Objective taken by a photographer, 5,000 coins will be added to the pot. There are six total Picture Objectives that could be acquired. However, it won't be that easy." McHallyboo then turned to Wario.

"Wario, you will be holding the camera from this morning," the host explained. "It's peripheral vision is indeed more magnified than the others. Your job is to hunt down these three photographers by chasing them and taking pictures of them. Once a photographer and their complete body is snapshotted, they're out of the game. If you manage to snap down all three within thirty minutes, you will earn an exemption."

"Nice!" Wario said with a more than pleased look, as the team of five shook their heads with dissent.

"But, hold it," McHallyboo said, taking something from his coat pocket. Resembling glasses, the device was a pair of goggles with a blinking chip at its very top, giving off an overall mechanized appearance that unsettled Wario.

"You will be wearing these," McHallyboo added. "Those goggles will be hooked to your camera. Every time to take a snapshot, the lenses will be obstructed for a full three minutes. In other words, you'll be in pitch black for three minutes every time you take a snapshot, and you will not be able to take any pictures." The other players laughed, feeling a bit of relief for the objective of the game. Wario took the goggles and put them on with a smirk, still with the same confidence.

"Got it?" All players nodded.

Yoshi: _I looked at Wario and his eyes were yelling at me, "This exemption is already mine!"_

Goombella: _It was up to me to just bring our whole team together. I was connecting the gap between everybody, so when McHallyboo was explaining the rules, I knew it all relied on me._

* * *

The mission was set to start. Fortunately for everyone, the sun was at its brightest moment, giving a wide view of where everything was. In this case, a player could spot everything, from a secluded area within the village to a running player holding your chance at an exemption. McHallyboo had Wario turned around, facing away from the village, as the three photographers held their small-sized cameras in their hands and took their stance, ready to run off at any moment.

"You will have a thirty second head-start before Wario," McHallyboo said, raising a white flag. "Are you ready!" Bobbery nodded, then Vivian, then finally Yoshi.

"Get ready, set...go!" The three of them ran off, their directions scattered at first until Bobbery gave out an audible grunt of disagreement to catch the attention of his two teammates.

"We can't just run about like chickens!" Bobbery pointed out. "These village is not easy to maneuver."

"Then what are we going to do?" Vivian said, feeling her ear piece and looking up at the yellow mushroom with Goombella upon it, who gave them a nod.

"How about we split?" Yoshi told them. "If we split, then Wario can't get us all."

"Suggestion taken," Bobbery said. "Then we'll wait on Luvbi to find her objectives." With a nod, the three of them went towards their only possible routes, each player taking one for him or herself: the left path, the right, and through the middle.

* * *

"Go!" came McHallyboo's voice from below. As Wario headed off from his spot, Goombella looked down at him from above with a nervous look. With a flick of static, she felt her ear piece become activated.

"Wait, who is this?"

"It's me. I'm far below all of you." Luvbi, strapped into a harness that connected itself to a cord, was aboard the first mushroom in the array that existed below. Peering down over the edge, she felt a bit of queasiness as she witnessed the area of abyss that she would have to jump over, to go from one overlarged mushroom to the other. On the platform of each mushroom was a glass container.

"Luvbi, we need the first Picture Objective!" Goombella realized. "Hoe do you get it?"

"I would achieve it by...forcefully jumping with this cord," Luvbi explained to her, looking up at where her harness connected to, "which obviously isn't the most nonchalant action I can take."

"Come on, we need you," said Goombella. "Wario's already off to get the photographers!" Luvbi looked hesitantly at the gap between the starting mushroom she was standing on to the pink one ahead of her.

"Luvbi, try jumping up," suggested Goombella. "How does it work with the cord?" As Luvbi gave it an attempt, her entire body was lifted, making her realize that her jump had been magnified by at least three times its length.

"More comforting," Luvbi said, then hesitantly, took her first jump to the first mushroom. Though frightened, her moon-like jump enabled a safe reach to the mushroom. Luvbi grabbed onto the glass pedastal for support, then looked at it: their first picture objective was encased inside

"I think I found what we need," she told Goombella, then tried lifting off the cap. The glass didn't budge as Luvbi continued to struggle with the glass stand, the piece of paper still within its box.

"Goombella...this won't open," Luvbi said, her voice with confusion. "The picture objective is inside the glass but it won't open."

"Can you see through the glass and read the Picture Objective?" Goombella asked.

"No, the paper is face down," Luvbi said, aggravation in her voice. "Why isn't this opening!" Goombella was perplexed, looked with worry as Wario began to make his path across the village.

Goombella: _Luvbi was having trouble getting our first picture objective. As Wario headed off to find the others, my mind just entered a whole new level of panic._

"Oh." Luvbi looked to over at the side of the glass container and saw a red handle, as Luvbi pulled up on it. The glass container opened easily and the paper was immediately attainable.

"This is a joke," she said with a smile, still perplexed.

"What?"

"Oh Goombella, I was being narrow minded," Luvbi said with a roll of her eyes. "But this is the first picture objective! Listen as I read."

_You make your way to an empty pond: a symbol of a sun inscribed into the tree above is what you need._

"Okay, repeat that into my earpiece as I relay this to the other three," Goombella ordered, grabbing a walkie talkie by her feet.

"Goombella!" came the voice of Yoshi. From behind a raised piece of land, Yoshi waved at her, visible but hidden in view from Wario.

"Yoshi, this is the first picture objective," Goombella told him. "At the empty pond, there's a sun symbol inscribed into the tree above it. Get a picture of that!"

"I'll get to it," Bobbery spoke up, his voice being heard. As Wario passed directly under her, Yoshi ducked away. From behind the large tree, Bobbery peeked to the side and saw the player with the hunting camera go right passed him, to the south side of the village. Goombella giggled as the two teammates shared a smile of confidence, then motioned for Bobbery to hide back.

* * *

"Oh no," Vivian said from her position. She was on the west side of the village among an garden of tall grass plants, and due to her slim body, covered her with its high greenness as she lay down. Even Goombella had trouble picking her out in view.

"Vivian?" came a voice to her ear piece.

"He...hello?" she replied with surprise. "Who is this?"

"Bobbery," came the voice. "All our earpieces and walkie-talkies are interconnected. Even Goombella can hear what we're saying."

"Shh," Vivian replied nervously. "Wario can hear me if I talk. I think I might just stay silent for now."

"Where are you?" he hissed. "I'm at the tree." Vivian raised her head and looked just enough to see a part of Bobbery's body, emerging from the side of the giant stump as he gave a look of confirmation,

"Oh!" Vivian realized. "You're right besides our first picture objective! You can get it!"

"Gah!" The two of them winced as a loud shout was emitted from their ear pieces. Walking into view was Yoshi, stumbling into the center of the village as he looked backwards. A few seconds later Wario came into view, his goggles no longer clear but the color of pitch black. He took slow steps, and everyone knew that he had taken a snapshot. Suddenly, a voice started to speak, from every single source of audio technology within the village.

"Hi players," said McHallyboo, talking into his special walkie-talkie. "I just received Wario's picture, and Wario, I'm afraid you only caught of a picture of Yoshi's leg. That means that all three Photographers are still alive."

"Booyah!" shouted Yoshi, as Wario let out a growl, sitting down on the ground. With the area secure, Bobbery immediately came out from behind the tree and faced up, getting a view of the sun design enscribed onto the tree. He took his first picture.

**Snapshots: 1/6**

"Yes!" said Goombella from her yellow mushroom, seeing Bobbery's action. "That's number one!" She picked up her other walkie talkie.

"Luvbi, you got the second picture objective already?"

"For heaven's sakes, I'm still on the first mushroom!" Luvbi replied.

"Hurry to the second! We need as many as we can!" Doing her job again, Luvbi took her aided leap with the cord above her and landed on he second mushroom, another of pink color. This time, she easily opened the container via red handle and got the second piece of paper.

_Go onwards and enter and find a fruit, and place it down a vertical corridor. Snap the lonely (and rather destroyed) fruit._

"That's a weird one," Goombella said. Being smart, she placed the walkie talkie in connection with Luvbi right against her other one, enabling all five players in their team to hear the Picture Objective at once.

"There," Yoshi said quietly, pointing to a dome-shaped tree nearby on the multi-raised platform.

"Vivian!" Bobbery said, looking at her direction. "Come out! Wario's been blinded!"

"He's only going to be blind for three minutes!" she replied. "I think I'll just stay here."

"And I'll get you," growled Wario, a mere feet away from both Bobbery and Yoshi. "Get you all. By thirty minutes, you'll all be captured."

"You can't see me," chanted Yoshi, walking around Wario in circles, as the disabled player gave about dirty looks.

"Yoshi, we need to make it to the fruit tree," Bobbery said out loud, "That's where our next objective is." Silently, they tip-toed away, making sure that Wario got no hint of their next direction. Reaching their location, they climbed a series of raised land platforms until they were level with the tree. Ducking down, they all saw the array of fruits, each hanging so low that they were just inches from touching the ground. Yoshi grabbed a pear and pulled it off from its branch.

"Do you think a pear would be good?" he asked.

"The objective said 'fruit', so as long as we don't get multiple fruits like bananas, then I would assume it fine," Bobbery pointed out.

"Goombella, what do we do now?" Yoshi asked, looking around. But they both knew the answer as they turned to the side, catching into notice a square hole just a few feet away. Upon getting closer, they peered down at the long vertical corridor that extended to at least twenty feet into the center of the village.

"We throw it down here," Bobbery realized. "And take a picture. Simple as that. A lonely and destroyed fruit."

"That sounds right," Goombella said, nodding and speaking into their earphones. "Throw it down and snap the lonely fruit!" Yoshi held the pear above the open air and dropped it, as the fruit fell to the grating floor, splattering and leaving yellow ick that had splattered onto the sides of the pit. Yoshi looked down and snapped the picture with his camera.

**Snapshots: 2/6**

"Two!" Goombella said happily. "We're at a roll! And no one is down yet! Luvbi, get the next Picture-"

They all heard a snap, much louder than the one before. Upon looking at the source of sound and light, Bobbery looked with disbelief at Wario, peeking from under the edge of the platform step that lead to the fruit tree. His eyes were blocked with the color of black, but his smile gleamed at them.

"Thanks for giving your location away," Wario said, looking directly at the admiral, in the same direction he had taken his fatal picture.

"One down," came McHallyboo's voice to all ear pieces among the entire village. "Bobbery is out." As the host's message was delivered, the timer ticked near to twenty minutes: the perfect ratio of time to catch all three players and finish the game.

* * *

**Oh snap! (no pun intended, heh). The mission goes on, as Episode 5 makes its start. Only six players exist. Who's innocent? And who is just plain suspicious in your eyes?**

**A happy holidays to all! Hopefully I can finish a majority of this episode this Christmas break. But don't kill me though T_T After all, it's the time for giving...well, at least not the giving of violent measures and actions towards a procrastinating author. Gahh, please nooo.  
**

**Stay tuned for soon! :)  
**


	19. Village in a Frenzy

**Whoot! A quick update, so the game continues!**

**Will the players be shot? Just what other aspects does this game contain? Enjoy-o!**

* * *

**Episode 5 **_**(Part 2)**_

With Wario's eyes blocked with its layer of darkness, Yoshi immediately ran off, hopping down the layers of land and reaching to the ground floor. He ran over to his right and saw the array of tall plants.

"Vivian!" he called out.

"Yoshi?" she called back, peeking out the tiniest bit. Yoshi ran up to her and grabbed her hand, then forcefully brought her to her feet.

"Bobbery's gone," he said hurriedly. "We need to hide! Now!"

"Let's just stay here!" Vivian thought.

"No, we can't," Yoshi pointed out. "If we stay here, we won't be able to take the pictures we need. We need to keep on maneuvering."

"But that's too risky!" she said, trying to sit back down, "cause Wario will find us!" Yoshi grabbed her up.

"What else can we do?" he told her. "Goombella, keep a watch on us! We'll follow your directions!"

"Okay," Goombella said weakly, then sighed. "I should have warned you about Wario coming. He darted so fast, and I couldn't even react." She looked at her walkie talkie by her feet.

"Maybe if I were just a few seconds faster in my job."

"It's okay," said Yoshi, as Goombella sighed again. "But just keep on telling us where Wario is. We'll follow you." Both Yoshi and Vivian ran from the field of leaves, just as Wario regained his vision. With Bobbery gone, Yoshi had taken place as leader, or at least the guider of the pair as Vivian followed behind him.

* * *

In the fungi jungle below the village, Luvbi had hopped from the pink mushroom she was standing on to the one of brown color, and at the moment was attempting to lift the glass stand before her.

"Luvbi, you got the next Picture Objective?" Goombella asked her, contacting in.

"Well, I'm trying to pry this red handle open," Luvbi reported to her. "Heavens, this is not easy."

With a final tug, the lid finally opened, as Luvbi looked at the glass cover than had fallen to the surface of the mushroom. Right as she moved her hand over it to feel a string, there was a sudden snapping sound as her harness suddenly hoisted up rapidly, causing her to scream and ascend so high that she and her harness hit the bottom of the village's enormous platform. She was left in the air helplessly, her cable completely sucked up above her. She let out a sound of despair.

"Luvbi!" Goombella called into her walkie-talkie. "What just happened to you?"

"I'm...stuck!" she cried back. "The lid was a trigger. The cord to my harness just disappeared upwards. Now...oh, don't even look. I'm powerless." She moved her body around with futility, and then looked above her to see the coiled-up cord. Goombella just looked at her walkie talkie with confusion.

"Okay well," she said. "Maybe it'll lower down in a few minutes?"

"I wish I was that optimistic," Luvbi replied, looking down at the brown-colored mushroom below her with unfavorable attitude.

"I'll help Yoshi and Luvbi dodge Wario for the time being," Goombella said, as she went to look at her two teammates. As Wario had regained his vision and the black of his goggles disappeared, Goombella saw his eyes give out a slight glare, one that was clearly visible even fifty feet away.

* * *

"Unbelievable! A fallen soldier already?" McHallyboo said with a half-grin, as Bobbery trudged to the host's place near the entrance of the village.

"Unfortunately, yes," Bobbery said, standing up tall and showing the honor that was still lingering inside him. He let out a laugh.

"Whose fault was it, would you say?" the host asked him curiously.

"It was a bit of my fault, and in more honesty, also a bit of my teammates'," Bobbery said frankly, choosing his answer carefully. "I could just say it was Wario's fault though. That's the simple answer."

Bobbery: _It was definitely Wario's fault. But I can't keep out of mind the actions of the very players on my teams, because they were very fishy as well with no doubt. Yoshi could have hurried up. Vivian was just hiding. Goombella could have warned me, at least twenty seconds ahead of time that Wario was coming our way._

McHallyboo raised his arm, showing the remote in his hand that was in wireless connection every moving player within the village. Turning it over, he showed Bobbery a piece of plastic that stuck out from it from underneath, resembling that of a light switch.

"Does that switch..." guessed Bobbery.

"This controls Wario's eye lights," the host explained. "I can give you a chance to shut them off for five whole minutes, and Wario won't even have to snap a picture for it to happen. Even though you're dead, you can still help the team."

"How do I do that?" Bobbery said, his voice showing increasing interest.

"Take a neutralizer," McHallyboo told him. "A neutralizer erases all chances of winning an exemption this episode. It's up to you." Bobbery faced the switch, his eyes looking indecisive, and then looked up at the familiar smiling face of McHallyboo. It was a face that was usually displayed when a player had to make a painstaking decision, either for the team or for the benefit for themselves.

"Give me a minute, will you?" Bobbery said with mental irritation.

* * *

Hanging in the air and a harness still attached around her body, Luvbi waited with no further knowledge of what was left of her. She was only able to look down at the brown-shaded mushroom that she had just been upon two minutes ago, and as she looked down even more, she noticed that the piece of paper within the glass held no writing on it at all, seeing it picked up by a gust of wind, flipped over, and littered into the black abyss.

Luvbi: _I've always had the personal phrase stuck in my head which speaks, "Look before you leap". As I suspended helplessly, I just repeated the phrase over and over again, feeling even more and more like a dangling idiot._

"A trick!"" Luvbi muttered to herself, and then shouted, "Goombella!"

Looking peculiarly below her, her eyes zoomed at the surface of the mushroom. In thick blobs and in a brownish color that was just a tint off from the regular color of the mushroom were large letters, printed on the fungi head and clearly visible to her, now that she was hovering above from an aerial view. Her eyes opened up with discovery, reading the words which were spelled out:

_**Remember what I said**_

"Who said...?" Luvbi said slowly to herself. She then snapped with realization, along with a slight, "oh".

* * *

"Shh!" Yoshi hissed, backing both Vivian and him against a wall. Slowly, they crawled in the opposite direction of where they had been heading, careful not to make any signs of noise. They had nearly stumbled into Wario's path of sight.

"That was close!" whispered Yoshi. "Why didn't Goombella warn us?"

"I don't know, maybe she's busy?" Vivian guessed. Static appeared, and Goombella was audible in their ear pieces.

"Luvbi was having some harness trouble," Goombella replied to them. "I just saw that! It's good you turned away from Wario before he could even see you. Now he has no idea where you guys are."

"Try helping us, will ya?" Yoshi said with panic, seeing Wario finally turn the corner.

"I'm literally doing like, two jobs at once," Goombella said apologetically. "So give me some time. But right now, turn right and run as far away as you can!" The two players on ground followed Goombella's instructions without hesitation. Luvbi buzzed in.

"Hey, can you get down---?"

"I've been released, thankfully," Luvbi replied, her cord having dropped as she took her stance on the mushroom floor carefully. Now used to the motion, she leaped onto the brown mushroom in front of her and looked at the glass container that stood before her, and with a smile, shook her head.

"There's a twist in this game that McHallyboo told us, but didn't tell us," Luvbi replied to her. "I remembered it in the back of my head, the very phrase he said. Why, he's always doing this. But luckily my intelligence can already decipher the meaning of it, and I got it before I could be mislead all one hundred percent of the way." Goombella pictured Luvbi besides her and gave her a heavy look of mystification.

"I have to guide the other two," Goombella said hurriedly, picking up the other walkie-talkie. "Just, when you get the Picture Objective, relay it to me."

"_The Mole in Season 1 wasn't truthful,"_ Luvbi recited, "_but she's the only truth in this second season._ That was McHallyboo's phrase." With a satisfied humph, she went forth with her actions, skipping the brown mushroom's glass pedestal and making her way to the next one: a mushroom of pink color. Grabbing the glass container, she took off the lid and read the paper.

"This is it," she said, as Goombella quickly put her walkie-talkie against the other one she was holding.

_Yellow fungi sit on the east side. Imagine a roast, but you don't have the---_I can't pronounce this word."

"What?" Goombella spoke. Luvbi looked at her sheet, appearing baffled at its description.

"It's a single word. It's like...con--fla--gration?" Luvbi repeated. "I'm very unfamiliar with this word."

"A conflagration," Goombella repeated. "Oh, that means 'fire'".

"Yellow mushrooms!" Vivian realized. "We just passed those!"

As they both halted to a stop and turned around, they saw a figure emerge from behind one of the towering red mushrooms in the distance. Running in the direction of west, they continued their hidden state away from Wario, who was slowly approaching them by the following of their tail.

* * *

"Well, this game is about teamwork," Bobbery declared to McHallyboo, who nodded at the spoken player's true statement. Still making his decision, Bobbery eyebrows were heavily furrowed, as he gave another shrug, this one however suggestive of a certain answer.

"Time changes a lot of things," Bobbery stated, "and if I were to do a noble action like this in the beginning of the game, it would have been greatly appreciated. But as you see, the other five probably couldn't give a hen's feather if I sacrificed myself for their benefit."

"So…" McHallyboo began.

"So no, I will not take the neutralizer." McHallyboo face looked a bit understanding, as he moved the switch in his hands away from Bobbery and out of his grasp.

"A choice made," the host commented. "A lost opportunity, but a self-save. The game has sixteen minutes remaining."

Bobbery: _I was hoping that this little deal with McHallyboo went unmentioned to the players. Hopefully my nobility still stands in this game. Or at least I can hope it does._

* * *

The pair had managed to make a full rotation around the village, walking on the outside path and dodging any signs of Wario, aided along with the directions and warnings of Goombella through ear piece connection, guiding them like a map around the area.

Goombella: _I was like a GPS. That was my job, and guiding the others from like, a yellow dot travelling around the entire place. It was hard, but I was glad I had gotten this job over the others._

At the moment, Yoshi had removed an entire yellow mushroom stalk from its roots and thrown it into the fireplace nearby, which was an indentation in the ground, but at the moment, absent of a conflagration. Vivian aimed carefully and took her picture for the team.

**Snapshots: 3/6**

"Gah!" Yoshi yelled, pulling Vivian to the side. At the east path in the back of the village was Wario, and he had caught them in sight. Unfortunately for the team and fortunately for him, he now had a target.

"You get back here!" Wario bellowed, holding the killer camera in both his hands as Yoshi and Vivian dashed down the path, panting with alarm as they ran even further down the east side of the village

Vivian: _I was just running down the path and I knew Wario was right behind me. Yoshi was ahead so he was safe, but I was lagging behind and just scared out of my wits._

Wario: _I had one shot. If I missed, there went three minutes from my time. I couldn't just go crazy, so I had to be smart._

_"_A picture objective!" Luvbi shouted, who was able to hear the frenzy going on, due to Goombella's connecting of their walkie talkies. "Listen! _It steams so hot, but what burns even more are the stings from the nest nearby._

"Oh!" Goombella shouted. "Stings...you need the bee nest! It's near McHallyboo...the entrance!" Yoshi turned to Vivian hurriedly.

"Okay, you get the bee nest, I'll distract him!"

With no other choice, Vivian nodded, as Yoshi stayed still for two seconds, pretending to catch his breath. Vivian ran off to the entrance of the village, passing over a green patch of land and going in the direction of the one of the humongous trees. Wario was now headed towards Yoshi, who jumped below into the water-less creek.

"Hey, you sly dino!" Wario snapped. As Yoshi ran off from under the bridge suddenly, Wario took his picture. Goombella gasped, the light from Wario's camera being so bright that she could see it from her spot in the distance. McHallyboo's voice interrupted their ear pieces a few seconds later, as he coughed.

"I saw your picture, Wario," the host stated. "You missed his head."

"Yes!" Goombella shouted joyously, giving Yoshi a smile of triumph. Yoshi just danced down the creek happily, smile big and feet prancing. Wario let out a groan of frustration for the second time.

* * *

"Wario's down," the host said to Vivian, who walked towards his position. As Vivian aimed her camera up to the sky, focusing it solely on the hanging bee nest, McHallyboo gave her an odd look.

"You're certain that that's the next picture objective?" Bobbery asked with a raised eyebrow. Vivian nodded, and then took her snapshot.

**Snapshots: 3/6**

"Huh? Three?" Vivian said, confused and turning to the host right besides her.

"I'm afraid you're a bit off," McHallyboo spoke, as Goombella listened. "Try the Picture Objective again."

"That was totally it," Goombella said with disbelief, confused as well in her own mind. "Vivian, maybe you need something else with the bee hive? Try taking another snap shot. Or possibly add something to it?"

"Like, take a picture again?" Vivian guessed. "Please help me!" She froze, seeing Wario stand up from near the empty creek, and make slow steps towards her direction.

"Oh no," Goombella said with panic. "Luvbi, repeat that Picture Objective again for us to hear."

"What!" Luvbi had already hopped to her next mushroom, and had pried the lid off to achieve the next and fifth Picture Objective. "I left the paper on the other fungi."

"Well, come on! We need it! Jump backwards and get it!" Goombella said, her eyes becoming more alarmed as Wario faced even more at Vivian's direction. But his eyes seemed fixed at not Vivian, but McHallyboo instead, as Vivian hid low behind the bamboo-like stalks which held up the hive above her. Wario turned away with a look of disinterest.

"Oh, if only you could remember," Luvbi said dramatically, then took her stance and hopped, this time backwards in the opposite direction. But as she did so, she was halted immediately by her cable, as if she had jumped into an invisible wall. She fell back below to the fungi she was standing on when her jump ended, her mouth open with confusion and suspiciousness.

"I...can't go backwards," she realized. "The cable doesn't let me!" Goombella's face became twisted in defeat.

"_Steams so hot_," remembered Yoshi, having heard Luvbi's description. "I think this is it." In front of him was the village's bath: it was circular, and behind it, a giant statue of a Pianta's head made from stone emerged from the ground, acting as the underground supplier of steaming water to the pool. At the moment, two Piantas relaxed in the hot springs, not noticing the existence of the curious player.

"A nest!" Yoshi shouted, waking the two Piantas up as he walked over to the giant tree, branching out from the north-west area of the village. He carefully made his way to the edge of the hot springs platform and knelt down, eyeing the bees that swarmed around the nest. As one of the travelled a few feet towards him, Yoshi fell back, startled. He looked at the nest again anxiously.

"Wow, it's closer to the edge of the village then I thought," he said, seeing how close the nest was from entering the crater abyss below.

"What was that, Yoshi?" Goombella called into his ear piece.

"I'm getting the fourth picture objective, sorry," Yoshi replied.

"No, Vivian's trying to get it right now!" Goombella corrected. "I'm instructing her to figure out all the requirements to take the bee nest photograph, at the entrance of the level. We can't seem to get it."

"No, there's another bee's nest over here!" Yoshi explained. "The Picture Objective said something about hot steam. Look at me."Goombella turned around on her yellow mushroom and saw Yoshi, all the way at the end of the village. She opened her mouth in realization.

"Vivian, that's the wrong bee's nest!" And at the same time, Luvbi's voice came in.

"Our fifth objective: _A lone Pianta is insignificant, but four more make a photo._" Luvbi looked at it.

"It's undoubtedly asking for a picture of four Piantas. Hurry!" Getting both messages at the same time, Vivian just looked at McHallyboo besides her with confusion. The host shrugged, and then looked at his clock.

"Eight minutes remaining!" shouted McHallyboo. "Only eight minutes!"

"Vivian, get a picture with four Piantas, quickly," Goombella ordered. "Yoshi, Wario's going down the path that joins with the hot springs entrance!" At her words, Vivian ran to the center of the village, exposing herself to everyone and making her the easiest of targets. But luckily, Wario's was heading elsewhere, following the eyes of Goombella who inadvertently gave out Yoshi's current location.

* * *

"Hey, you!" Yoshi said, tapping one of the Piantas hurriedly. The Pianta was submerged in the hot water of the bath and looked at him with heavy irritation.

"You look like you need to use the bathroom," the Pianta noticed, seeing Yoshi's nervous steps and appearance. "There's a tree---"

"No no, please do me a favor," Yoshi said, keeping his voice at a calm level. "See those bees over there? I need a good picture of that nest, but it's not exactly easy and it's near a cliff that goes down a thousand feet."

"I keep those bees as pets!" the Pianta scoffed, as Yoshi handed him the camera. As the Pianta got out of the bath and took his steps towards the back of the village, Wario's hat became visible, peeking out from behind the land mass holding the fruitful tree, as Yoshi knew that he was approaching closer.

"Please hurry," Yoshi said, his eyes wide with fear. "Any good shot would be perfect."

"Just a better angle," the Pianta said, leaning on a leg to one side." At this rate, Yoshi was able to hear Wario's footsteps, thudding closer, and at a much faster rate than before.

"Please hurry," Yoshi whispered.

The Pianta gave a disgruntled look at him, and then aimed. As he bent close to the ground, he proceeded to click down on the camera's trigger.

"There you are!" Wario roared. Yoshi grabbed the camera from the Pianta's hand, nearly knocking him to the ground as Yoshi sped off. To Wario's shock, he jumped over a curve of the water pool and dashed away from the marble area of the hot springs, nearly tripping in the process, as Wario chased after him at full speed, the killer camera situated in his hands with a perfect view.

* * *

"Umm, excuse me," Vivian said, tapping the shoulder of a Pianta. He turned around and looked at her, his height being towering over hers.

"Yes, umm, shadow girl?" he asked, looking at her curiously.

"As you might have noticed, I've been running around this village trying to take snapshots," she said, holding up her camera. "I need a picture of four Piantas, quickly. Can you be one of them?" The Pianta looked at her even more curiously.

"If you think we're creatures to be photographed, you're entirely wrong," he stated in an offensive voice. "Though we're different species, we still hold native to this island!" Goombella heard the Pianta's rant through Vivian's earpiece and rolled her eyes.

"Pianta's aren't exactly the most humble creatures, huh?" Goombella said into Luvbi's microphone. Luvbi paused, just before she was about to make her final mushroom hop.

"You're telling me this of what significance?" Luvbi asked Goombella with perplexity.

"You can't trick me this time!" Wario shouted, showing no loss of energy in his running. He chased him down the east path of the village, and as Yoshi approached the piece of land over the empty creek, he looked around with alarm: he had already used this trick on Wario.

Yoshi: _It was déjà vu all over again. Wario knew about my bridge-dashing trick. I had no idea where to go._

"Vivian!" Yoshi shouted, seeing her within the center of the village. She had already gathered two Piantas and was now going for her third. She gave a worried look at Yoshi, who jumped into the empty creek and headed to the West side of the village.

"No, get your picture and hide!" Yoshi gasped, as Wario jumped into the creek as well. Having less superior jumping abilities than Yoshi, Wario fell to his side for a split second upon impact. Getting up to his feet, he ran after the player immediately with recovery.

"I'm right behind you!" Wario yelled. Vivian turned back to her small crowd.

"Okay, I need two more!" Vivian said out loud. To her relief, a mother and daughter Pianta began walking up to her position, looking positive in offering their help.

* * *

"This ends," Wario said in a half-snarl, as Yoshi found himself on the ground, towards the front of the village. Trying to cut corners, he had tripped on one of the bamboo fences that surrounded one of the red mushroom towers, stepping on it but losing his balance. Wario raised his camera up, his hand on the trigger and lens aimed directly at the fallen player before him.

"You'll never get all three of us!" Yoshi exclaimed, looking up at the light. With ease, Wario took his snapshot.

* * *

"Perfect!" Vivian said out loud, taking a picture of all four Piantas lines next to each other, each of them more than willing to help her achieve the fifth snapshot of the game.

"One more picture objective needed, and four minutes remaining in the game," shouted McHallyboo, as Vivian smiled.

"Yoshi is down," added the host, as Vivian's face dropped into sheer terror. Goombella looked painfully at the fallen figure, who made his way slowly to the entrance of the level. A full minute had passed since Wario had taken his snapshot, and Vivian was the only one left.

"The final Picture objective!" Luvbi called out, flipping the paper over that she had achieved in her hands from the last mushroom in the row. Luvbi looked at it, her face twisted into a slight look of worry.

"What is it?" Goombella asked her. Repeating it again to herself, she talked into her ear piece.

"_Snap the camera hunter, and make this game over_."

"I have to...snap Wario?" Vivian said incredulously. "What does that mean?"

"It's a shoot down, I'm…guessing?" Goombella said, looking down at Vivian while at the same time speaking to her. "Between you and him. Whoever shoots the other one first is victorious. This is what it looks like." Vivian shook her head strongly with objection.

"No, I can't do that," Vivian said, her eyes filled with fear. "He'll get me first!"

"You can either hide for the final three minutes of this game and save Wario from getting this exemption, but cost the money," Goombella thought, running the possibilities through her head, "or you can try and attempt this final snapshot."

"What would you do?" Vivian asked, still hesitant. Goombella gave her a smile from above, facing down from the yellow mushroom.

"I think you can do it," Goombella told her, as Wario suddenly got up from his spot. Vivian saw him head immediately towards the East side of the village as she followed right after him, but taking the smallest of approach steps a good distance the hunter. Wario passed the entrance of the hot springs and travelled around the corner.

"One minute left!" McHallyboo called out, notifying all the players in the village that their mission was about to end. Bobbery looked with tenseness, noticing the decreased amount of frenzy within the village that lay before him. Goombella gritted her teeth.

"I'm approaching him," Vivian said, gulping and seeing Wario disappear around the land mass' corner.

"He's completely faced backwards from you!" Goombella said with excitement. Going down the same path Wario had just gone, Vivian passed the entrance of the hot springs and went to peek around the corner, exposing all of the West side of the village in view to her. Wario was in plain view as well, facing backwards and headed towards the garden of tall plants. The time left for their mission was unknown, but it was drawing near to its end.

"Come out, Vivian!" Wario said, almost in a threatening voice. Realizing that Wario was looking for Vivian among the array of tall plants, Goombella motion for Vivian to step closer, towards Wario, as Vivian held her camera up.

"This is a perfect shot," Goombella said quietly. "Do it! A snapshot before--" Wario abruptly turned around, at first caught by surprise by the player standing before him, but then scowled with anger. Vivian ran towards Wario out of fear suddenly, screaming helplessly, as Wario positioned the camera directly in front of his chest.

Two snapshots were fired, being just milliseconds apart from each other. The two players created a flash of light so strong that from anyone else's view besides Vivian and Wario, thinking that there had been a mini combustion between the two of them was an understandable thought.

* * *

***munches on fried shroom fries* Cliff hanger indeed! Yikes! But just who shot who first when the game reached its end? The next part tells all.**

**I'd just like to give out a thanks to those who reviewed in my last chapter. Even after a near two-month absense, you guys still show your support through words. I just appreciate it so much, so thank you all for the inspiration =) If you have been a continuous reviewer before, my greatest thanks to you too! **

**If you're just been reading this story as it goes, that's great! But it would mean a bucketful to me if you dropped in a review =)**

**Hope you all enjoy an early New Years! *pops English cracker with fake confetti* (heh, the Mole made that cracker. I swearrrr).**


	20. Relaxing with the Mole

**Hope you all had a Happy New Year! Here comes the first chapter of The Mole: Saboteur's Island, of 2010!**

* * *

**Episode 5 **_**(Part 3)**_

A pile of ear pieces, walkie talkies, and other mechanical gadgets were littered into a pile below the hanging bee's nest at the entrance of the village. All players had been finally gathered, their game done.

Goombella: _For the first time in this game, I felt like I've been drained mentally. The mission just had so many components happening at the same time. Everyone was bustling. _

"Man, that was tough," Goombella said with a heavy breath, throwing her other walkie talkie into the pile. To no surprise, the group of six had separated themselves before McHallyboo: Yoshi and Vivian seemed to be together, as well as Luvbi and Goombella. Bobbery stood on his own side, standing proud, and Wario was even farther away from everyone else. In other words, no one bothered to stand near Wario, the camera hunter of their recently-ended mission.

"Players, your mission was well witnessed by me," McHallyboo said to them, "and I imagine you all just want to know how well you did. Well, luckily for you all, I have the results." The players could only listen anxiously to the upcoming results, known only by the host himself. Everything within the mission, especially the final few moments of it, seemed like a blur in their minds. Too much had been going on at a time, but all would be cleared up in the next few minutes.

"At the very last second, both Wario and Vivian took snapshots of each other, just milliseconds apart," the host explained. All players held their breaths.

"But Wario snapped first." The player in yellow let out a roar of happiness, throwing his arms in the air with victory in the shape of fists. The other five were appalled, if not disappointed. Vivian looked down at the ground miserably.

Vivian: _I really did try my best. Everything at the last second went so fast, and my actions weren't as fast as my thoughts._

Bobbery: _We all find it distasteful when the person of bad attitude gets awarded. This case apparently happens quite a lot, and I was getting quite bushed about it._

"Oh, poppies," Bobbery said sternly, the only player who was more irate and angry than downhearted.

"But that does not mean you got the exemption, Wario," the host said suddenly, as all twelve pairs of eyes faced the host with perplexity and surprise. One of the pair of eyes raged with flabbergasted fury.

"Like stated throughout the game, you had to capture the full image of a photographer," McHallyboo reminded him, holding up a developed picture, "and this is what you gave me, Wario." The picture that they all saw was of purple blur, and some of the players could make out the slight figure of one of Vivian's hair curls, but magnified by at least a hundred. Wario snorted, calming down at an astonishing rate.

"Well, I guess fair is fair," he said, "but I _did_ deserve that exemption more than anyone else!"

"So did we get that final picture?" Goombella asked the host. "Money wise, did we get it?"

"Unfortunately, no," McHallyboo added, causing a stir among the team of five. "You had to get a full picture of Wario."

"Wait, no we didn't," Goombella said, remembering the last few minutes of their mission. "The Picture objective said nothing about a full image."

"This is the Picture Objective that was present in the game." McHallyboo took out a paper slip from his pocket and exposed it, face-up in his palm. The players saw the large dark letters that spelled a message, a font which Luvbi had been reading from for the entirety of the game:

_Snap the camera hunter, and make this game over. Take a full image and win the game."_

"That last line wasn't...there?" Goombella said, her sentence at first sounding confident and aggravated, but then dropped. With an odd look, she turned to Luvbi.

"What?" Luvbi said, flatly.

"Luvbi, you relayed us the wrong message," Goombella recognized. Luvbi looked hard at the piece of paper, which was still being held by McHallyboo.

"I gave you the info we needed though," Luvbi said back. "We were fine anyways."

"But you missed an entirety sentence," Goombella pointed out.

"You can't just blame, over this very, very miniscule error I made," Luvbi stated back to her. "You were dilly-dallying up at the top and did your big share of errors as well. I did one."

"I think I did an excellent job," Goombella objected, being offended by Luvbi's blame. McHallyboo took something else from his coat pocket: two photographs, those taken by the Camera Shy people.

"This picture," said McHallyboo, holding up the one Vivian took of the Piantas, "only has four Piantas." Vivian looked confused, seeing her own photograph developed.

"Isn't that what we needed?" she asked with confusion.

"The Picture Objective read, '_A lone Pianta is insignificant, but four more make a photo,'" _McHallyboo said, slipping the fifth Picture Objective paper out and reading it out to them.

"Okay?" said Vivian, still confused at his words.

"Four plus one equals five. You needed five Piantas in the picture." This time, everyone faced at different people. Goombella and Vivian faced Luvbi, as the males in the group turned to Vivian, the taker of the snapshot.

"Luvbi, you said that we needed four Piantas," Goombella said, shaking her head more heavily this time. "Will you finally admit that you made a mistake?"

"Well, I undoubtedly read the Picture Objective out loud to you, so you heard it as well!" Luvbi said, tossing her head. "You're giving me all the blame?"

"But you gave us directions during all this frenzy!" Goombella pointed out. "We were busy avoiding Wario. The Picture Objectives were your job."

"Oh, so teamwork was abandoned?" Luvbi snapped. "I can't take all the blame. You didn't realize five Piantas were required either." Vivian just looked back at McHallyboo, not wanting to blame anyone or stir up a fight. Goombella sighed, and then turned to face the host.

"It's a game," she repeated, keeping her focus and closing her eyes.

"This picture also had a problem," McHallyboo continued, holding up the photograph taken near the hot springs.

"Hey, that's my picture!" Yoshi spoke up. "What's wrong with it?"

"My rules states that you yourself had to take the picture," the host pointed out. "We spied on you, and saw that a Pianta took this picture instead."

"Come on," Yoshi argued. "A picture is a picture, no matter who took it."

"And a rule is a rule, no matter how small," the host replied, triumphantly. Yoshi grumbled.

"And just one more thing you might find in interest," McHallyboo added, putting all photographs back into his pocket. "When Bobbery was knocked out early from the group, I gave him an offer to freeze Wario for a length of five minutes."

"Yes, well..." Bobbery said quickly, in an attempt to stop the host's sentence.

"But in return, he had to take a neutralizer, voiding him of any exemptions for the remainder of the episode," the host went on. "Bobbery, what did you do?" The elder player looked awkwardly at the players, but cleared his throat regardless.

"I had faith that you two would have the littlest of trouble avoiding Wario," Bobbery said grandly, giving a smile and a nod towards both Vivian and Yoshi. "Five minutes wouldn't have made much of a difference, anyway."

"It didn't have anything to do with the fact that you didn't want to sacrifice yourself for any later exemptions?" the host questioned him.

"That may have been just one of the many reasons," the admiral admitted, looking to the floor.

Goombella: _Why would this episode offer any other exemptions after Wario was already offered one? Bobbery should have taken the neutralizer. He wasn't thinking clearly at all when he refused the offer._

"So do I still get the exemption?" Wario said, noticing the various flaws that the team of five had performed.

"No, none of that had anything to do with you," McHallyboo said to Wario, who gave out a heavy frown. "You still did not win the exemption. But, the team as a whole wins 15,000 coins. So you could say that the glass of success was half full!"

"Or half empty," Luvbi said, finishing the phrase.

**TOTAL POT VALUE**

_**114,000 COINS**_

* * *

Goombella: _There were a lot of twists and turns in this mission. The end of the game had as much surprises as the mission itself._

Luvbi: _Goombella did a less than mediocre job as the helper from above. She just wasn't capable enough to keep the game controlled under her guidance, and even just with audio, I was able to determine that._

Vivian: _I do admit that at one point in the game, it seemed like Goombella was trying to get us caught by Wario by not warning us. I'm not sure how busy her job was at all, but when we were heading directly into Wario's path, neither Yoshi nor I were warned._

Goombella: _I'm just trying not to scream at Luvbi, because I was getting that close. She was blaming me for the mistakes that she made. Her job was to simply read messages off from a piece of paper, and she couldn't even do that. _

Vivian: _Luvbi's mistakes were indeed the biggest errors in this mission. The things she did were very Mole-like, and Luvbi being the Mole is just one of the least things I want to imagine being as possible. To me, at least._

* * *

Yoshi: _My ankle's as sore as ever. The thing that makes the pain worth it? We kept Wario from his exemption, and I feel proud because I contributed the most with my running. We didn't need to get a car and tour us._

Wario: _Yoshi was just really getting back at me this episode. Last episode, I took his exemption. Now he took mine. I refuse to think this is karma._

Bobbery: _It's still very questionable to me when Wario touched that camera on the breakfast table this morning. Little did we know that simply touching it would give him a chance at an exemption. I'm questioning it deeply, and so will my journal._

Yoshi:_ I was kinda disappointed with Bobbery. He could have been a great guider for us, but was shot down within the first ten minutes of the game. Then he had the chance to help the team later on, but he refused. He's really fighting for himself in this game and disadvantaging the team._

Wario:_ When I was offered an exemption in Episode 3, it was like a piece of paper to me. A useless, green colored piece of paper. And I hate to say this about myself, but I think I'm learning from this game. What am I learning? That I shouldn't just waste things._

* * *

The sun set in Pianta Village, giving the players a look at its second life. Each piece of glossy land seemed to glow within the community, and with the village being so elevated over the rest of Isle Delfino, the air seemed different as well. If it weren't for the flames that were lit over the waxy surfaces of each mushroom, the place would have appeared and felt as cold and gloomy as a jungle. But with the sight of bustling and happy Piantas doing their daily routine actions at nightfall, the place was miles off from being called a jungle at all.

"Ah, the water feels soo good," Goombella said, sighing as she stepped her way into the pool. Having finished dinner, the players headed to the village's most popular attraction: the hot springs.

_"_Bah, you call this a jungle?" Bobbery scoffed, submerging himself into the pool so much that only his mouth was above water. "When I was shipwrecked the day I first discovered Keelhaul Key, I had to survive on my own. Little protection at all. No people. A jungle _that_ was."

"Hey, any room for me?" Wario demanded, getting into the hot springs and causing Goombella to give out a slight sigh of repulsion.

"I was stranded too," Yoshi piped up, wading his feet at the edge of the pool. "Remember Episode Two? Diddy, Rosalina and I had to stay for an entire night on that jungle island."

"Yes, you did," Bobbery said, interrupting politely, "but you had an entire camera crew to accompany you, now didn't you?"

"Hey, come on in you two!" Goombella called to the two females behind her. Luvbi and Vivian found their seating on the marble counter that surrounded the hot springs, and both shook their heads, almost at the same time.

"I'm not a fan of water, in most cases," Luvbi said, her voice sounding refined.

"I really didn't bring a bathing suit," Vivian admitted. "I'll just stay here."

"I would perhaps like a stroll later tonight through the village," Luvbi reconsidered. "Goombella, you can be my guide, since you have no more of my distractions to hinder you."

"Oh, stop it," Goombella said, giving an exasperated look towards her.

The moon was directly over their heads, and occasionally, a player would tilt their heads up and enjoy the rare beauty that the game had given them, for surviving to a location like this. But of course, every peaceful moment had its opposite right next door.

"Hhhhhhheyyyy, players!" shouted McHallyboo, startling Yoshi so much that he fell face first into the pool. Goombella shrieked, the splash being so large that McHallyboo's shoes were pelted with water as well. Luvbi and Vivian were victim to laughter as the other four players scrambled to get out of the hot springs, Yoshi looking the most overwhelmed out of all.

"You just HAD to do that!" Wario snarled, taking a seat on the hot spring's edge, and eyeing something fishy in the host's hands.

"Sorry, I just wanted to give you all a hearty entrance," the host said, rolling his eyes. "You all seemed to be in a peaceful trance. I just _haaad_ to break it."

"Oh, so you're not here to join the peacefulness?" Luvbi asked McHallyboo, who shook his head. The host took out a layer of stacked piles, consisting of books that were all too recognizable to the players. Their mouths dropped open as he held all of them in his hands, then dropped them to the ground carelessly.

"Careful with my journal," Bobbery spoke up with alarm, standing up from the pool to retrieve his. But McHallyboo just wagged his finger as the player approached him.

"These will be part of our next mission," the host spoke up. "It's a short and easy one. Don't worry: you'll get your journal in soon time."

"You're not going to destroy the journals, are you?" Goombella asked dreadfully.

"No," the host admitted, sounding disappointed. "But maybe just one page. This game is called Page Six. In honor of the six of you left, I'll be ripping out page 6 from each of your journals." The players became stirred at this thought.

"The game will be a guessing game, and you can earn up to 20,000 coins," said the host. "But if one of you objects to the playing of this game, we won't play it, but your journals will remain intact." Everyone looked at each other, seeing a few shrugs from most of them in false nonchalance. Though these shrugs were merely for the game to go on, each one of them felt a slight bit of anxiousness.

"Guys, these are like, our journals," Vivian spoke up. "Mine has some personal information.

"As does mine," Bobbery couldn't help saying. "It's a simple bribe: keep privacy, or twenty thousand coins."

Bobbery:_ My journal was important, as well as what I write, but I wasn't going to ruin the game in such a blatant move._

"Unless anyone objects, you will all be playing for the money," McHallyboo spoke to them. As no one bothered to raise their voice, he continued.

"Well, here are the rules," McHallyboo explained. "One by one, Page 6 will be read out loud from each of your journals. A selected player must then guess who the writer of the entry was. If they're correct, that's one for the team. If there are at least three correct guesses, I'll add 20,000 coins to the pot. No cheating! No speaking out loud a name. Hand signals and any other signals will be heavily documented." The players nodded, even at the host's final dramatic sentence.

"Okay, we shall begin!" said McHallyboo, picking up the first journal from the pile on the ground. A piece of duck tape was placed onto each journal, concealing both its owner's name and the number it held. Counting to the sixth page, McHallyboo then ripped it out, causing all six players to feel a slight sickness at the sound of the tearing page, each one imagining their own journal being shredded at the moment. The host held the page up and read it out loud.

_Okay, we're entering into a new game. _

_I can't seem to pinpoint exactly who it is. My suspect is Wario, but a lot of others fall right behind. Could it be Diddy? I pray not._

_Wario: answered his question wrong in the Wiggler Cowardice Test. But then Luvbi refused. Maybe if there were two Moles in this game, that would have made perfect sense. But there's only one._

"I heard my name like, ten times in that one page," Wario said, aggravated to the max.

"Well, that's how we're playing," said McHallyboo. "Whoever's name appears the most or most centered on the page will be the guesser for the writer of the entry." Wario looked carefully at those around him, their faces looking silent. Wario then pointed to Goombella.

"How'd you know?" Yoshi said with disbelief.

"Well...it sounds like her talking," Wario said, confused. Goombella finally nodded.

"That's one," the host said, putting the ripped page back into the book and throwing it besides him, as they all saw the journal land on the grass ground with a thud.

Goombella: _That journal page was much more revealing than I thought it was. But that was from like, Episode 3. I've changed a lot in my thoughts since then._

Wario: _Was Goombella really writing what she meant? Maybe if she was the Mole, none of it was true at all. Any one of us could be the Mole, so any journal entry could be as false as ever._

"Good guess at knowing my writing style," Goombella laughed. "I never write in sentences though. Usually short bullets."

"Our next victim," McHallyboo said, looking more than a little happy as he ripped the page out.

_Our team did fine this episode. We maneuvered watermelons all over._

_No surprises, except for Luigi at the very end. The lad could have stayed much longer. _

_Mission: Cocomero Correto_

_Watermelons had to be rolled from amidst the beach to the dock, each fruit giving money. Diddy gained an exemption. Luvbi may have the lost the dictionary. _

"Oh, absurd," Luvbi announced, shaking her head at the last sentence. "I'm being blamed, once again. And by the host as well."

"Luvbi, this is your guess," the host said to her. "Who do you think wrote the entry?" Luvbi, still looking aggravated by the writer's accusation, just sighed.

"I guess Vivian," she said out loud. The host shook his head, as Luvbi's face turned into one of incredulity.

"Well, now it's obviously-"

"Ahh! Don't say it," McHallyboo warned, as he put the piece of paper back into the journal and threw it behind him.

"Maybe if the writer wasn't so vague, I would have gotten it," she said, shaking her head and sitting back down.

McHallyboo then reached down to grab the third journal from the remaining, and read it to the group:

_Day 6: Joyous adventure indeed that took place today!_

_We took part in one of the most difficult mission up to date. Like the actions of an explorer himself, I did the job well. Below me it glistened like lava, and the area itself was a volcano. Fighting courage like my brave ancestors have done, I travelled at least 80 or 90 or 100 feet to my location. I'll do it, family! I believe in you! And I believe in myself! And yes sir, I accomplished! _

_Suspects: Vivian wore a green shirt at night. It might have been a clue._

"Sounds more like a storybook than a journal," Bobbery said, chuckling.

"Oh, err, I guess it's me then to guess," Vivian realized, looking around her at the straight faces. She turned to Wario, who looked back at her.

Vivian: _I knew it was the mission from Episode 3, but I didn't even get to play in that game. So I had to guess between two people._

"Wario?" she answered sounding unsure. McHallyboo shook his head, as Vivian made a face of distress.

"No, it was not Wario's," the host said, as a half of the journals remained before him. "We will continue on."

"That wasn't my entry in the tiniest bit," Wario grunted, folding his arms. "I don't write like that at all! I'm more...never mind."

Taking the fourth journal, the host flipped carefully, tearing the single page out and reading out loud to the players once again.

_Second list: Vivian and Yoshi._

_Yoshi served food at the party. The table happened to collapse, so that made me look at him a lot. Vivian on the other hand looked as if_

"I'm afraid the rest of the entry is in Page 7," the host shrugged.

"Is that me or Vivian to guess?" Yoshi asked. McHallyboo pointed at Yoshi, who then looked around at his fellow peers.

"Luvbi," he answered, as the player shook her own head.

"Darn!" McHallyboo held two fingers up, then threw the journal backwards and behind him into the now-majority pile.

"Wait, we don't get to know the writer if we're wrong?" Goombella questioned.

"I'm afraid not," the host told her.

"The game would be a rip-off if the writer was revealed," Bobbery pointed out to her. "Though of course, beneficial to us."

"You guys are two down. You need to get both these journal entries correct to win your twenty grand." Picking both journals up from the ground in front of him, McHallyboo weighed both books in his hands like a scale. Then, he dropped his left hand, leaving only one journal remaining on the moist floor. He ripped the sixth page out and read it to them.

_Oh dear. I must say, this game has taken quite a turn since the first episode. We now have individuals stranded on an island. _

_Well, better to play safe than sorry in this game, I've learned. After taking the first exemption of this game, I feel an odd force, pushing me to go further and grab the rest. Maybe my intuition on who the Mole is will get better later on. But for now, I'll rest._

_Ending the night, -_

"And the writer signed his or her name here," finished McHallyboo. "Since the writer mentioned people stranded on an island, then I'll give this one to Yoshi again."

"I'm guessing this time it's Luvbi?" Yoshi guessed, as McHallyboo nodded.

"All right!" Wario shouted with a grin. "That's two, right?"

"Hmm," Luvbi said, looking immediately at the last journal remaining on the floor. All players looked tensely at the final journal on the ground. As the host picked it up and ripped the sixth page from its binding, every one of them opened their ears, ready to hear McHallyboo's reading of the final page of their game.

He said nothing. As McHallyboo flipped turned over the page to show the players what was written, he revealed a blank page to them, absent of writing and being as empty as the amount of remaining hope in each one of them.

* * *

**Phew! I wanted to finish another episode part before school began, and success indeed =) ****Mega suspicions! The Mole is still alive, and their actions of sabotage will continue the remainder of the episode with no delay, so stay tuned! **

**This episode will consist of five parts instead of four, so the length of this chapter might have seemed a bit shorter than usual.**

**A picture clue! Finally, one in quite a while, no? x.x But this new one has a cool appearance overall, so hope you enjoy it on my profile!**

**(consider this update a small gift before the dreaded Monday, aheh)**


	21. Predict Your Taste!

_**Okay! Now most of you may be wondering where I had gone. I would have been wondering the same thing about myself. Perhaps I had gone to Europe, or Asia, or even to another world. Maybe I travelled to another parallel universe in my spare time, where I finally got to live out my own long-awaited Mole fantasies in reality :D (which I must say would have been v**__**e**__**ry needless, since I already have the maximum happiness of my Mole life right here, heh).**_

_**But no, I was just home, being a procrastinating self... T_T But hopefully your memory isn't as bad as mine, and that where we had left off isn't too blurry for anyone. **_

_**But if so, let us be reminded by none other than our loyal remaining contestants! **__**Introducing…the final six!**_

**Goombella: ...okay, umm, where are we exactly?**

**Luvbi: My memory draws blank.**

**Yoshi: ...I think we might be back in the game.**

**Bobbery: My rotten fish nuggets, could it really be?**

**Vivian: Wow! It's been a while.**

**Luvbi: I'd say. It **_**has**_** been quite a while.**

**Wario: A while?! We went undocumented for five whole months for crying out loud!**

**Yoshi: Almost just like the actual hiatus delay during Season 2 of the Mole US! But not as long.**

**Bobbery: I would say though that a significant amount of time had passed. **

**Goombella: Just to be precise and on record, five months didn't pass. More like four and...a dominant fraction.**

**Vivian: Well, to us it didn't seem that long. I hardly remember time passing.**

**Yoshi: But where did we leave off anyway?**

**McHallyboo: As you can see---**

**All: WHERE DID YOU COME FROM?**

**McHallyboo: Heh, I'm the host of course! I come from anywhere and everywhere, remember? Anyways, as you can see, it has been a while. **

**Luvbi: Thanks for reiterating that.**

**McHallyboo: But let me give you all a brief summary. Episode 5 had started, and only six remained in the game. The players began the fifth round of adventure with an intense game of Snap to See. After a bit of usual drama, they were rewarded at night with a relaxation at Pianta Village's hot springs, finally settling down...but not for long. I barged them all with a surprise mission where they had to identify which journal entry page belonged to which player, among several pages and journals I held in my hand.**

**Luvbi: And just when we were sure we had the money in the bag...**

**McHallyboo: Dun dun dun! The final entry journal page was blank! ****And that's where the cliffhanger began!**

**Wario: Usually cliffhangers don't last over a period of several months, ya know.**

**McHallyboo: Oh pfft, of course they do! Otherwise we wouldn't call them cliffhangers at all.**

**All: ...**

**McHallyboo: Anyways, did you hear about my newest automobile extravaganza over the April vacation---**

**All: JUST GO!**

**McHallyboo: Okay.**

* * *

**Episode 5 **_**(Part 4)**_

"The answer goes to anybody," McHallyboo stated, holding the final journal entry page in his hand. "Anybody, but the writer him or herself, of course." The blank page just stared back at the players, as they all recognized the final act in their game that had just put their money winnings at a greater and ridiculous risk: the writer wrote nothing. But Luvbi laughed, as everyone turned to her.

"What's so funny?" Wario spoke up. "You know something?"

"Actually, I do," Luvbi said. After sighing, she turned to look at the players around her, who looked back at her with befuddled looks. Then she turned to the host.

"It's a simple process of elimination that I took track of," she explained. "The first journal entry was confirmed to be Goombella's. After making my error on the second journal entry, I was then determined that one was Bobbery's. Yoshi was the writer of the third entry, if it wasn't Wario. Then Wario wrote the fourth one, writing two names in his entry that weren't his. And I was the writer of the last entry." Finally, she looked at the lone player sitting besides her.

"So this journal entry is Vivian's. Final answer" Everyone looked at Luvbi with a slight level of amazement, who in reply merely had a definite look on her face.

"Hmm, I'll be darned," Bobbery said with a clear of his throat. McHallyboo raised his eyebrow, and instead of dropping the journal in his hands onto the ground, simply twirled it in his fingers once, then twice.

"Well, that just earned you an extra 20,000 coins as a group," the host announced. "Job well done!"

"Twenty big ones!" Goombella said with a satisfied grin, as Wario slowly clapped as well.

"I was dying not to tell you that I wrote that journal entry," Vivian said turning to Luvbi besides her, as they both laughed.

"Well, you just have to use your mind," Luvbi said, still looking straight at McHallyboo.

**TOTAL POT VALUE**

_**134,000 COINS**_

"We made more money in this three-minute mission than we did during our snapshot shenanigans!" Bobbery said, shaking of his head. "Realization of priorities to me."

"Or maybe just potential," Yoshi said. "This was a more mental mission, so I guess we're more smart than physically strong."

Bobbery: _Every mission so far has required some kind of intellectual work. The ones that are best, for someone like me of course are the missions that completely void anything physical. I'm an old man running on stored fuel, so as this game goes, I have to be on par with the people around me._

"I apologize for breaking your moment of peace," the host said, tipping his hat to the players and gathering the journals on the floor on his way out.

"Hey, don't mention it!" Wario called out after him. "Twenty thousand coins and you've got us all as relaxed as possible!" He jumped back into the sauna pool, as everyone gave a small cheer for the very unusually relaxing night.

* * *

The players found their sleeping quarters on the bamboo platforms, which were scattered in no particular sense of arrangement around the village, mostly uncomfortable. Each of them given nothing else but a pillow, the moon's air in the night gave them a cooled-off and satisfying feeling before going to bed. But when they were awakened, the sun shone more brightly than ever before in Isle Delfino. Remembering that they were located at the highest point in Isle Delfino, the players also remembered their events from yesterday.

Vivian: _I was happy that Luvbi got those twenty thousand coins at the last second. Approaching the game's second half, we really needed it. After all, Luvbi was the cause of a lot of the lost money during Snap to See, so I guess she redeemed herself._

Luvbi: _It's basically the dead center of the game now, entering into the other half of the game. After this episode, there will be five people remaining. I have to be one of them. I won't allow myself to fall. _

Goombella: _I realized in the journal entries last night that no one suspected me, and though I was a little disappointed, I can now grasp what my true place in this game is. I don't think I'm going to play a suspect anymore. I'm just going to play a player._

"Wow, my ears hurt," Yoshi realized, waking up from the lowest bamboo platform among a stack. "How high are we?"

"Location wise?" Bobbery questioned. "Why, we're on an enormous tree! And high above highs. But it's no worse than being on an airplane."

"Rosalina would have loved this location," Vivian said, reflecting on the disappointing fact that certain players were cut short from their current place.

"Hey McHallyboo, you didn't give us our journals back from last night!" Wario remembered, approaching the host as he made his way to the entrance of the village. "Maybe you need more responsibility so we don't fail this game. My mind doesn't work like a sponge, you know."

"Well, one night without a journal wouldn't kill you," the host spoke reasonably, but Wario just scowled in reply at the host.

"Wait, umm, where exactly did you come from?" Goombella questioned the host, her face as confused as ever knowing that McHallyboo wasn't around since the end of yesterday's second mission.

"Oh, took a helicopter," the host explained. "Back to Delfino Plaza for the night."

"Trying to keep up your consecutive record of 5-star hotel sleeps, I suppose," Luvbi murmured to herself, just loud enough for the others to hear her.

"What was that?" McHallyboo piped up.

"Oh, I just had a nice sleep yesterday, that's all," Luvbi replied. "You know, it resembled bamboo tatami flooring."

"More like the wooden flooring of a pig's pen," Bobbery said, sounding a bit disgruntled.

"Hah, well," the host said, "I didn't go back to Isle Delfino just for a night's good rest. I came back with a few things, back at the entrance. But as of now, I'd like you to meet..." A Pianta wearing the outfit of a safari enthusiast stepped out, having blended before as a simple resident of the village. Instead of the traditional leaf-assembled skirt, he had on a pair of khaki shorts, and instead of the mini-tree that sprouted above him, a pith helmet was placed directly upon his head.

"My name is Joe Safari!" he announced, hands at his hips and standing proudly. "And I will give one of you, just one of you, an exclusive tour around this village."

"All right, sounds good," Goombella said with a false smile, obviously suspicious.

"Who wants to be it?" the tour guide asked, putting his hand in the air. "First call is first and only serve to take this exclusive tour. Under my guidance of course."

"Meh, I already saw the village yesterday," Wario pointed out. "Under my OWN guidance."

"This guy doesn't give me well thoughts," Luvbi whispered to Yoshi, the two of them having agreed with the same fact moments before.

Goombella: _I don't know who was going to take the offer. We were all just standing, wondering whether this might be an exemption offer or not. I was sure though it was going to be something along the opposite._

"Umm," Vivian said quietly, slowly lifting her hand in the air.

"Well, an offer's an offer, and I'm not one to refuse," said Bobbery with heavy enthusiastically, as Vivian quickly put her hand down. The Pianta grinned and motioned for Bobbery to step forwards.

"You, sir, will be under my expertise!" Joe said proudly. "I will be bringing you to places in this village you've never imagined possibly going! But first, we need hiking boots!"

As the two of them proceeded to get ready, the other five players, along with their scheming host, turned around and made their way to the true entrance of Pianta Village. To greet them would be an array of contents, contents which would also make them wonder in all of humanity what their next mission was going to be.

* * *

"Oh, I could only guess McHallyboo," Goombella said with a voice of repulsion. The players came across a table, five plates upon it. Each plate though had its own unique pile of items, stacked and readily presentable to the players. Besides each plate was also a fork, shining out to them all before they were even able to finish crossing the bridge.

"This game is called...The Fungi Prediction," McHallyboo announced.

Luvbi: _Definitely one of the least pleasing sights one could witness. The forks pushed it just over._

"Various fungi litter near the depths of Pianta Village," informed McHallyboo. "Adventurous Piantas dangle down hundreds of feet just to get a taste of these exotic flavors, and to hopefully collect a batch of mushrooms for their own culinary enjoyment. As you can see, each plate on this table holds a pile of these distinct mushrooms." Indeed, each plate held its own kind of mushroom, all different in shape, size, and strongly and unfortunately enough, odor. Vivian held her nose and took the biggest of steps back, as did Luvbi. Wario simply scrunched his nose, while Yoshi stared curiously.

"While Bobbery goes on his little tour, we'll be having our secret cameras recording his every move," McHallyboo explained, giving their attention to the delivered screen monitor that was hoisted upon another table.

"We've rigged the tour so that they'll be different circumstances Bobbery must face," the host continued. "As he begins to approach one of them, you must predict, as a whole, what he would do. If you're correct with your guess, then we move on. But if you're wrong...here is where the forks come into play."

The players' attention turned to the food table again, at the several plates holding their own unique kind of mushroom. One kind of mushroom was long with a bulbous cap and white stem, another was the color of orange and had a cap so big it was basically its full image, the third had purple spots that covered its entire body, the fourth was merely a pink tiny mushroom no bigger than a coin, and the final one was a black mushroom, so raw-appearing that tiny pieces of mycelia threads could be seen sprouting from its bottom.

"I am NOT choosing that black-colored one," Goombella said with a shake of her head.

"With every wrong guess, two of you will be selected to eat a mushroom within an allotted time," McHallyboo explained. "If you refuse or fail to eat it within thirty seconds, you will be out. For every one of you who is still remaining after all five rounds, 5,000 coins will be added to the pot, making this mission worth the amount of 25,000 coins."

"Are you going to assign it or are we choosing our mushroom plates?" Wario asked.

"You will each pick your own plate, and you'll be eating from that," McHallyboo explained. "These mushroom range through basic tastes of the human tongue. Speaking which, one of these mushrooms are sweet, one is sour-flavored, one is as salty as heck, one is bitter, and one of these little suckers are spicy. So, go grab your plate! But, you can't touch the mushrooms." The players leaned forwards and got their better look at each meal.

Vivian: _I was definitely hoping not to get the spicy one. Getting the sweet one would be nice though._

"The black ones....eck," Goombella said. "I'm going for the pretty ones." She grabbed the plate with the orange-capped mushrooms.

"I guess someone must do this one," Yoshi decided, grabbing the plate of black mushrooms and eyeing them closely.

"The purples one looks poisonous," Vivian said cautiously, seeing Wario grab the plate full of them. Vivian took the plate with white-stemmed mushrooms, as Luvbi took the last plate of miniature pink ones.

"Where's your plate, McHallyboo?" Luvbi said with a small smile.

"Oh, these mushrooms are my favorite delicacies," he said with a smile. "They'd be no challenge for me. Hopefully you guys will agree too. Now let's see our first circumstance!"

The monitor flicked on. Where the camera within the village was located, the players had no idea. But all that was displayed on the screen were three boxes, adjacent to each other and on a portion of the land that didn't cross any of the paths within the village. The players stared carefully at it, their attention finally being pulled off the odd fungi before them.

"In soon time, Bobbery and our guide will be approaching these boxes," the host said to them. "Now, the guide will be stepping over these boxes. It is your job to predict whether Bobbery will follow his lead: will he go over the boxes as well, or step to avoid them? You have about twenty-five seconds to decide." The players turned to each other as the camera feed continued.

"Okay, well, we have to choose an answer as a whole," Goombella explained. "So let's take a vote."

"How about we just go with the right answer?" Wario argued. "Come on. It's common sense."

"Well, define what 'common sense' is," Luvbi said, rolling her eyes. "Is it common sense for him to follow or avoid?"

"I would say it's common to avoid the boxes," Yoshi spoke. "Why lift a leg when you can just walk instead?"

"But maybe he'll just follow," Vivian thought.

"It might be a bit awkward for him to step such a distance aside and avoid the boxes," Luvbi analyzed, going up to the screen monitor herself. "How wide is this box barrier anyway?" The five of them stared more at the screen.

"Each one is like, three feet long," Goombella estimated. "Suggestions?"

"I'd say avoid, just cause Bobbery is who he is," Wario explained.

"Why?" Goombella questioned.

"He's barely tall enough to even climb one of those boxes, let alone step over one!" Vivian giggled.

"Well, it's only a...four and a half step to the side," Luvbi reconsidered. "It'd probably be an involuntary move."

"I agree," Yoshi said with a nod, and when Vivian nodded too, Goombella turned to McHallyboo.

"We predict that he'll avoid the boxes," she said, as McHallyboo checked off the paper in his clipboard. The players waited, and saw two figures emerge from the very bottom of the screen monitor.

* * *

"The Piantas are always constructing!" the tour guide said, pointing at one of the multi-platformed bamboo structures in the area. "Now, though, they are in a period of relaxation. But at least their minds are still working up possible new innovations to advance this town."

"I must say though, I can see their brains working at light speed," Bobbery said. "Good creatures."

"Why thank you," said Joe, giving no more words as they both approached the row of boxes covering the green patch of land. A quarter of a foot behind the tour guide, Bobbery saw him step nonchalantly over the middle box that was in their way. Bobbery did just the same.

* * *

"Doh!" said Yoshi, as everyone's shoulders dropped with disappointment.

"Well, that's only one wrong," Vivian said optimistically.

"Pooey, Bobbery's eyes weren't even looking forwards," Luvbi commented. "Bobbery had might as well tripped over the boxes than actually go over them. Unpredictable in my opinion."

"Well, regardless, we were wrong," Wario said, his voice grumbling at the same time.

"I'm afraid Bobbery did _not_ avoid the boxes," McHallyboo stated. "That means that two of you will have to eat your fungi. We'll be going by table arrangements, so...Goombella and Wario, you will be eating first, on my count." The two of them faced the food before them uneasily.

"Oh gosh," Goombella said, taking one of the orange-capped mushroom up. Wario did too, not looking pleased as he grabbed his fork and shoved it into the pile of purple-spotted mushrooms.

Goombella: _I gave my mushroom a sniff before eating it. It smelled like an orange, so that probably compelled me to go forth._

"Thirty seconds...now!" Both players immediately put their assigned fungi into their mouths. Goombella's face immediately turned to a scrunched one, as Wario's eyes shot wide open with a volatile taste in his mouth.

"This one tastes like it was dipped in sea water!" Wario exclaimed, much to the disgust of the others around him. Goombella shook her head, managing to chew her own mushroom.

"This is ten times worse than a lemon," she said, her lips pursed. As McHallyboo counted down silently, both players were done before twenty seconds were up. They both relaxed back, still not relieved.

"Give me water, now," groaned Wario, who was immediately given a cup. The entire time, Luvbi and Vivian's faces were twisted into looks of horror. Even Yoshi looked somewhat uneasy.

"Well, no one is out!" McHallyboo confirmed. "Yet. Let's see how well your stomachs will handle the rest of this game. On to Round 2." The camera immediately switched its point of view, to a part of the path that ended in an intersection. Most of them recognized it as the pathway leading up to the hot springs, as McHallyboo turned back to the players.

"In soon time, the tour guide will turn in the direction of right and say, 'This way to the hot springs," explained McHallyboo. "But in fact, the hot springs is to the left, and he will be bringing Bobbery the wrong way. Will Bobbery speak up and correct him, or hold his ground and silence?" The players pondered for a second.

"Mmkay, another vote," Goombella said.

"What!" Wario shouted out immediately.

"What?" Goombella replied, frowning.

"We voted last time, and where did that get us?" Wario pointed out. "Nowhere! N-O-W-H---"

"Well, it's not really voting!" argued Goombella, and then found herself stumbling over her own words. "Well, technically it is."

"I would probably correct him," Vivian said, pertaining to the monitor.

"But the question is, what would Bobbery do?" Luvbi reminded. "It is of course beneficial to look into our own minds, but that fails to be the point of this game. We have to look into the mind of him, and only him."

Goombella: _Luvbi definitely has the psychology behind these games. She knows the right things to think about during missions. Her mind is set like my mind._

"Bobbery is respected," Yoshi spoke up. "And if you're respected, then you probably respect others too, right?"

"Respect?" Goombella asked. "How's that relevant?"

"He'd probably respect the tour guide and not correct him," Yoshi said, shrugging. "I don't know."

"Okay, well, are we voting?" Wario said immediately, as Goombella shot him a look of disbelief.

"Well, one vote for each," Luvbi recognized, looking at both Vivian and Yoshi. "I would think he would hold his ground. He doesn't stand as interruptive."

"I think he'd correct him!" Wario voted, making the score a tie.

"I'd say hold his ground," Goombella said, eradicating the tie vote.

Wario: _Out of all possible methods, voting is the worst one. Goombella was just dying to go against anything I voted for. I saw her grudge slowly forming against me during this game, so the votes were basically biased!_

"We think Bobbery will hold his ground and not correct the tour guide," Goombella said, facing McHallyboo.

"We?" scoffed Wario, turning directly besides him to look at Goombella. "You mean _you_ think so."

"Oh, just be quiet," Goombella said to him. "No one's psychic." In seconds to follow, both tour guide and Bobbery came into picture.

* * *

"The springs make a great, great place," said Joe, "when you need to relax. They sedate the nervous system and stimulate the defenses of the body. That's why you get such a light and heavy feeling at the same time." He then faced right.

"This way, to the hot springs!" As soon as he let out his statement, Bobbery gave a perplexed stare towards the opposite direction.

"I hate to intrude on the process of your tour, but aren't the hot springs...that way?" He pointed towards the possible opposite route.

"By all means, where is my brain?" the tour guide exclaimed, giving a light laugh along with Bobbery as they both turned around.

* * *

"Oh no..." Vivian said with dismay, looking at the plate in front of her.

"I knew he wasn't dumb enough to just walk in the wrong direction!" Wario said, voice in irritation. "I guess voting failed _again_."

"Well, voting is what revolves this world," Luvbi pointed out.

"I'm never much for politics," Yoshi said glumly.

"So what method are we doing now, huh?" Goombella said with exasperation.

Goombella: _Even when Wario happens to be right in some situations, which is a rare occasion, he still gloats and it doesn't make him any better. I'd rather be a wrong, cultured person that a correct unliked one. _

"Well, since so much unneeded fuss is coming from this, I suppose we'll find another way to...choose," Luvbi said carefully.

"But before we start another round, I'm afraid two more participants will have to feast," the host said. "Since your guess was wrong, Yoshi and Vivian, the two of you will have to devour one of your mushrooms each." While Yoshi used his hand to pick up the black mushroom before him, Vivian cautiously stuck her fork into one.

"I'm not ready at all," Vivian admitted. "Like, is it sour, or sweet, or spicy?"

"Well," Yoshi gulped, "One must take risks to move on." He stuck the mushroom into his mouth.

"Hold it, no eating yet!" McHallyboo said, nearly jumping his whole body onto the table. Yoshi sputtered the mushroom out back onto his plate, much to Vivian's squeal of disgust.

"It's sweet!" Yoshi said, choking from McHallyboo's sudden outburst.

"I didn't start the timer yet," the host stated. "And now I'll have to disqualify you."

"What!" came the voices of all five of them, including Yoshi.

"Well, you began feasting before I even started the timer, and gave away the distinct flavor of one of the mushrooms," McHallyboo explained reasonably. "I'm sorry, but you're out of the game." Yoshi's face was flabbergasted.

"Well, that's embarrassing," Luvbi said in an annoyed voice.

"But you said nothing about that in the rules!" Yoshi spoke out, sounding more mad than embarrassed.

"I stated that you had to eat a mushroom within an _allotted_ time," the host said with memory. "And you did not. You did it within a negative time zone."

"Not…not fair," Yoshi muttered.

"So my mushroom is _not_ sweet?" Vivian said in a voice of dread. Luvbi looked at her, then at the mushroom.

"But it's still edible," Luvbi said truthfully.

"Thirty seconds...now!" Vivian took the white-stalked mushroom and after a few seconds, took the tiniest of a bite. She froze, not bothering to chew what was in her mouth. Instead, she opened her mouth and spat it back onto her plate, much like her partner had done.

"It's...bitter!" she said, her face repulsed.

"Is this like the biggest joke or what, McHallyboo?" Wario said, controlling his sudden and erupting outrage.

Wario: _This was turning as bad as our first mission. If it wasn't for our win last night at the steaming water pool, I would have been tearing my hair out and stuffing it into McHallyboo's face._

"Two down in one round?!" he continued. "Even Goombella was able to do something."

"Wow, you can just be QUIET!" Goombella snapped. "I can do more things with my head than you'll ever be able to regret." Luvbi let out a small chuckle.

"That was the most awful thing I've ever tasted," Vivian groaned, grabbing a received glass of water.

"I believe both of you are out now," McHallyboo announced, facing Vivian and Yoshi. "That's ten thousand coins down right there. But fifteen to remain. Let's carry it on." Appearing on the screen yet again was Bobbery and his tour guide. Not having made too much of a travel since last time, the tour guide was explaining something to Bobbery as they both stood at the edge of the hot pool. In the distance, tiny specks were dancing in the air, barely visible due to the television's poor contrast with the sun.

"Not too distant in the future, the tour guide will be bringing Bobbery to take a look at those bees," McHallyboo explained. "He will urge Bobbery to step up and give the bee hive a tap. So will Bobbery step forth to do so or not?"

"Umm, isn't that a bit dangerous?" Goombella said. "That bee hive dangles two feet from the edge of the village. There's no way Bobbery would say yes."

"If Bobbery does volunteer though, Mr. Safari will cancel his action," McHallyboo decided to add. "In other words, either way, Bobbery will be pulled away. The question lies on Bobbery's amount of bravery and whether he'd actually say yes."

"Can we still talk?" Vivian inquired, "even if we're out?"

"Yes, even if you're out," said the host.

"All right, let's vote," Yoshi said.

"Voting gets us nowhere!" Wario complained.

"So what are we gonna do?" Goombella said testily. "Let one person decide?"

"Actually, I'd go with that proposal very well," Luvbi spoke up, standing up in her seat.

"Hey, who said that you're going to choose for us?" Wario said, his eyes narrowing at her.

"Oh, both you and Goombella are fussing an unusually awful lot today, so none of you will be doing it," Luvbi pointed out, "and besides, I showed my analytic skills last night when I concluded last night's mission. So I'll be deciding now."

"Trying to pull a Diddy, eh?" Wario said.

"I'm trying to get us to work again a team again," Luvbi stated with emphasis.

"By deciding on your own?" Wario scoffed. "All right! You're making perfect_ sense!"_

"Luvbi, just go," Goombella said. "We still hold a chance even if you guess wrong." Luvbi looked at the screen, her time ticking away as the tour guide turned around from where he was standing to face the hive, then Bobbery as well. Luvbi faced McHallyboo.

"I do not think Bobbery will attempt to touch the hive," Luvbi guessed.

* * *

"You may have noticed that there was a hive at the entrance of the village," said Joe. "Bees plant their homes anywhere and everywhere. They just need enough humidity, and in a spot like this one, they probably receive more than enough." The hive before them was located at the base of one of the immense trees that sprouted from the village's terrain, and dangled just feet above from the ground.

"Would you like to give the hive a touch?" the tour guide asked Bobbery suddenly, much to the player's surprise.

"Me?" Bobbery almost sputtered. "Well I---"

"Oh, don't be uncertain," the tour guide said. "Go forth!"

"Well, I'd hate to provoke anything..." Bobbery said carefully, both of his eyes concentrated heavily on the hive.

"Come on!"

"No, I'd rather not."

"You sure?"

"Nature is delightful," Bobbery said with a little grin, but then he shook his head. "But I think my presence to the bees would be a vexation. I've survived stings, but..." He unwillingly looked more into the distance ahead of him, past the bee hive and into the very rim of the black shadows that made up the pit that existed below Pianta Village.

"I haven't gone somewhere that no one else had ever gone before." With a shrug, Joe just turned around to face the rest of the village, and so did Bobbery.

* * *

"Well," Luvbi said with relief, "I guessed correctly."

"So no one eats a mushroom?" Vivian asked.

"You're meal free," confirmed McHallyboo. "Congratulations on your third round, but in reminder, we have two more to deliver. This time, if you fail this fourth round, then Wario and Luvbi will be fated to eat."

"I'm yet to try my mushroom," Luvbi said distastefully. The TV switched its view, and another camera within the village was activated. The players were able to tell that it was the West side of Pianta Village being displayed, due to the tall grass that littered the left side of the screen. But the grass wasn't the only thing seen littering the area. An inch to the right of the path that lead down the side of the village was a lone can, empty, the brand "Chuckola Cola" clearly spotted on its front.

"Our test subject will walk down this path with his tour guide," McHallyboo told them, "and they will pass a discarded can on the ground. The question is, will Bobbery pick up the can?" A majority of the players turned again to Luvbi.

"Me again?" Luvbi said in a surprised tone.

"Well...I guess so," Goombella said, having no other method of decision in her mind. Luvbi turned to the others, a look of unusual certainty on her face.

"Not too many people are environmental friendly nowadays," Luvbi began, "but I think Bobbery will pick up the soda can. That's my assumption."

"I'd say so too," Yoshi agreed. "Out of all of us, Bobbery would be the one most likely to pick up litter."

"You have time to think," McHallyboo said, looking at the time on his watch.

"But we'll submit the answer now," said Luvbi. ""We think that Bobbery will pick up the can on the ground." With that, the five of them waited less than a minute for Bobbery to emerge from the screen's top.

* * *

"Did you know that our village is basically surrounded by a crater in a mountain?" said Joe, as both he and Bobbery walked down the village's West path. "Though the components are entirely different, you could almost compare our appearance to that of Corona Mountain."

"That place is real?" Bobbery stated, his voice in both question form and sounding intrigued. "I mean, I've heard the tales but never imagined it...lava at one's base of a mountain. It's rather remarkable!"

"Why, of course it is!" Joe said with a chuckle. "What else do you think that large rupture of planet surface is behind Delfino Plaza?" Bobbery nodded.

"I would assume though that the area isn't available to the public," Bobbery commented, picturing the image in his head. His foot nearly touching the can of soda, he took one extra step forwards and was completely passed it. Bobbery continued on, the trash on the ground untouched and still behind him.

* * *

"Oh, well, I guess my credibility is void now," Luvbi said, throwing her hands to the side in an attempt to look blameless.

"Whoa!" Wario said, still in shock from Bobbery's action. "He left it? How could he just leave that trash on the ground? Out of all people too."

"Maybe it's human nature to leave garbage as it is," Yoshi considered.

"But he's not human," Wario snorted.

Goombella: _We were all expecting Bobbery to pick up the trash on the side of the path. So when he didn't, it didn't just affect our game, but surprised all of us._

"Well, I guess someone has to eat," Goombella, hiding her thankfulness that it wasn't for her to be feasting that round.

"That wrong guess of Bobbery's action results in a mushroom for both Wario and Luvbi," McHallyboo said.

"Good luck," Vivian said helplessly, still holding her glass in her hand.

Wario grabbed his fork hurriedly with a snarl, as Luvbi grabbed hers reluctantly for the first time. Before her was her plate, on it having mushrooms being the smallest size of all out of all five dishes, and pink-colored as well. Wario stared yet again at one of his purple-spotted mushrooms.

"Ready?" McHallyboo began. Both players nodded.

"Thirty seconds...now!" While Wario had a sense of familiarity with his mushroom, Luvbi immediately decided to eat hers as well, with no previous knowledge of its taste. Her eyes immediately watered.

Luvbi: _I remember McHallyboo going over the fact that the plates would range the __basic tastes of the tongue. As soon as I realized that the only mushroom we hadn't come across yet was the spicy one, the flavor had already hit me._

_

* * *

_

**Bobbery is being stalked and Luvbi is hit with a terrible sense! Ever tried a habanero pepper before? Those little devils are spicy as heckers, ahehe.**

**So I delayed and failed in a way. I can promise you all though that until this story is finished, there will never be a gap like that again. But now that school is entering its final chapter and the SAT's are now the business of a negative century, my updates will be much more frequently now! Hopefully I'll be able to finish this adventure before summer even ends (or possibly begin?)**

**I just wanted to give my thank you's to all those who are still reading, but with more love, to my reviewers x] You have my love and I won't hide it! And if you don't get this chapter update, then hopefully you'll intercept the update for Episode 5's conclusion.**

**Speaking which, a player vanishes next chapter! An execution round will finally hit us again, and the number will get smaller. ****Oh, and due to there only being six players remaining, choosing your top three suspects is basically getting half of the gang, heh x) But what are reviews for? Choose as many suspects as you want in your lists and do your sleuthing! **

**Who will go next chapter? Here is your next Final Destination clue:**

**| NO STARS |**

**And no mercy either for the Mole's next victim! Stay tuned for the next update!**


	22. A Player Sent Off

**The final section of Episode 5 is here and the episode ends!**** Let's see what happens, as the game gets narrower and one goes home.**

**

* * *

**

_**Episode 5 (Final Part)**_

The other four stared with amusement at Luvbi's reaction, induced by the spiciest mushroom in all of Isle Delfino.

"Breathe through your nose!" Yoshi suggested. "Circulate the spiciness out!"

"Blehh!" Luvbi sounded, opening her mouth to prove that she had devoured her fungi. Wario was taking the final bite of the mushroom in his own hand, nose scrunched in disgust. Before McHallyboo's timer was done, they were both finished.

"Time!" McHallyboo shouted. "You both passed. Round 4 is done."

"Now that just proves I'd do anything for money," Wario said, face scrunched and taking a sip of water from his cup.

"And for me proves that I do not like spicy food," Luvbi said truthfully. She sat in her chair, seemingly not bothered.

"Don't you want a glass of water?" Goombella asked her all of a sudden.

"Why?" Luvbi said, looking a bit puzzled. "The taste would go away anyway." Goombella simply looked at the plate of pink mushrooms, suspiciously.

"Three of you are left alive after four rounds," McHallyboo said, "and now we come to our final round, which will determine that final number. Let's go!" For the final time, the television monitor flicked on. The ground level for this last camera varied from the rest of them, and all they could see being displayed was a close-up of a tree. But upon second looks, the players realized that it wasn't a close-up of a single plant, but rather an aerial view of one of the enormous trees that sprouted out from Pianta Village's terra firma.

"You will have an assumed three to five minute wait for this one," McHallyboo said to them, "so that's how much time you'll have to answer. This camera is at the very top of the most Southern tree of Pianta Village. Joe Safari will attach Bobbery to a cable and lead him up the tree. The question is, will Bobbery make it that far and be seen on camera? You must give in your prediction soon, because if Bobbery pops onto the television before you submit one, you will lose this round." The players turned to each other for their final prediction.

"Maybe he'll do it," Vivian guessed. "He's probably done a lot more things in his life. But...I'm not sure."

"Oh, come on," Wario reasoned, speaking not just to Vivian but everyone as a whole. "If he can't even pick up a can on the ground, what makes you think he climb a fifty-foot tree?"

"That's like, so unrelated," Goombella said. "That had to do with recognition. This has nothing to do with that. This is more on the physical question."

"We know one thing, right?" Yoshi thought. "Bobbery is cautious. He didn't touch the bee hive, remember?"

"So maybe he won't climb over an extending plant over a dark pit?" Goombella said with amusement. "Well, that makes sense to me."

"You're finally agreeing with me!" Wario couldn't help saying.

"I would have to agree with you all as well," Luvbi said, "but it wouldn't be much for peer recognition."

"What's that?" Vivian said, confused along with everyone else.

"Stop using such extravagant terms," Wario told her, annoyed. "We can't understand anything you're saying if you talk so fancy."

"We're lowering Bobbery's dignity if we say that he can't make it," Luvbi said, making a face at Wario's remark. "For that, I'd think he'd make it."

"But that doesn't even matter," Yoshi pointed out. "Saying whether he'd make it or not doesn't really boost or lower his dignity. Would it?"

"I would vote with Luvbi though," Vivian said, siding with Luvbi. Goombella looked at Yoshi, who shrugged, and then at Wario.

"Blah, whatever you guys wanna say," Wario said in a grumble, looking back at her.

Wario: At _this point I couldn't care less whether we were right or wrong, nor did I care that we even voted on the final round. I showed the others what a competitor I could be by eating those darn mushrooms. Maybe I should push more fear into them by showing them what I can really do. Then they'll see who's really a player._

"I'm not too certain," Goombella said, looking back at the television. "He hasn't shown much potential in the previous trials."

"But what's to say about this case?" Luvbi reasoned. "Each scenario has been different. Anything can happen here."

"True, but shouldn't we put more thought into this?" Goombella considered. "We should wait a while and see if he actually pops up on screen. We're pretty much guessing anyway."

"If he pops up, our round is lost," Luvbi said, repeating McHallyboo's words.

Luvbi: _I think I did look a little suspicious. But it always helps to make things more complicated than they should be. In this case though, I believe I was just speeding up the game._

"Well..." Goombella began, but then saw McHallyboo take a glance at his own wristwatch. She nodded at Luvbi, almost in a small sense of reluctance, and then faced the host.

"We think he'll make it."

The players waited several minutes in silence. Most of it was influenced by McHallyboo's heavy stare at the screen, along with their own individual ones, as if they were on the lookout for any movement or secret tidbits to appear on the feed that they were receiving. As the screen flickered and more time went by, the players became agitated.

Yoshi: _As time went by we started losing hope. Nobody really expected Bobbery to show up on the screen._

"Hmm...well, whadd'ya know?" Wario said all of a sudden. "We failed. Big surprise everyone!"

"Am I surprised?" Luvbi said, her voice and face looking both unsurprised to a maximum level.

"No, look!" Vivian said suddenly. From the bottom of the screen came a black speck, and as the individual came into full view, they were even more certain that it was their sixth player, climbing the side of one of Pianta Village's largest trees with a cord attached to his back. As he turned around to inadvertently face in the direction of the television's camera, the final ball in their game was dropped, and Round 5 was over. Their mission was done.

"Well, looks like we survived," Goombella said with a grin, facing her teammates with triumph.

"My gosh, he looks exhausted," Vivian noticed, looking at Bobbery on the television monitor, as the five of them laughed at the poor fatigued player with both pity and a feeling of success.

"Let's go greet our climber, shall we?" The five of them turned around and left, leaving their table, television, and plates of exotic delicacies on the portion of land that separated entirely from the whole of Pianta Village.

* * *

At the back of the village, Bobbery was greeted by five semi-excited players and their host. Finally let privy to the mission they just played, Bobbery's eyes widened with heavy bewilderment.

"My journey was videotaped?" was all he could sputter. The group let out a laugh.

"A mock tour," Bobbery said, both surprised and pleased. Joe Safari gave a hat tip to the player he had just guided.

"And I hope you had enjoyed it!" the tour guide said grandly.

"That ends the mission, and I'm sure you're all thrilled to know that you have won money," McHallyboo concluded. "Because three of you were still remaining after our final round, 15,000 coins will be going to the pot. This brings your total winnings for this episode to a not-too-shabby 50,000 coins. Your pot total is now...one-hundred and forty-nine thousand coins."

"Not too shabby at all," Wario grinned.

**Total Pot**

**149,000 coins**

"Can you round it to the 150,000 mark for us?" Yoshi groaned. "We're so close McHallyboo!" The host chuckled.

"I'm afraid you'll have to work for those extra thousand coins another time," McHallyboo told them all. "But on second thought, maybe you won't be winning any more money at all from now on. That is a possibility."

"If the Mole really decides to kill himself and work extra hard," Goombella joked.

"Or if we fail to work as a team," Luvbi said reasonably. She turned to Vivian besides her, who instead of being in the spirit of good mood like the others, was in a weird sort of trance.

"Are you all right?" Luvbi asked her curiously. Vivian nodded, shaking her head and forcing a smile.

Luvbi: _Vivian's look perplexed me. I knew something was up, but I believe she was being smart by keeping it only to herself._

"Well, I'm not too certain on this, but...I'm looking at another possible round of free passes to the village's Jacuzzi tonight..." McHallyboo began. All six players couldn't help but jump on him with elated feelings.

* * *

The next morning was a rude awakening. The awakening was rude in more than one way, the first component of terribleness being recognized right away and being the sun's unusually strong glares, hitting the civilians of Pianta Village viciously. But the second one was a more mental, unfavorable thing, and that was the knowledge of another player's disappearance to happen that very day and night. Knowing that a whole day was left in store for them before another unfortunate execution was to take place, the players took time to reflect on the past episode as a whole, not only with themself alone but with those around them, eager to hear anything spoken and potentially useful for their own advantage.

"I'm honored to be part of this conversation," Bobbery said, giving a nod of appreciation to both Goombella and Yoshi as the three of them walked down Pianta Village's center.

Bobbery: _To talk with the others around you was an opportunity far too good to pass up. I needed as many words heard as I could get._

"Well, I mean, I just wanted to say," Goombella spoke out loud to them. "Luvbi is getting even more suspicious, thing after thing. And they never end. Don't you guys see it too?"

Goombella: _When Luvbi ate her pink mushroom during that mission, at first she reacted, but once she was finished eating she just sat back down in her chair as if nothing had happened. She didn't even have a spicy aftermath reaction, like most spicy foods give you. It was in such plain view and no one else noticed it, except for me._

"Your mouth just doesn't lose spiciness as soon as you devour the food," Goombella said, shaking her head with ridiculousness.

"True," Bobbery contemplated, and then turned to Yoshi. "You're the culinary expert on taste buds. Could the spicy taste sense end immediately after the devouring of a spicy food?"

"It really depends on how spicy it is," he replied. "But Luvbi's behavior was suspicious."

"I should have tried one of those mushroom for myself," Goombella sighed. "Who knows? Maybe that mushroom wasn't even spicy at all. And Luvbi was acting...just like she always does." As Goombella seemed to go off and drift to another path of the village, Bobbery leaned over to Yoshi's side in an attempt to talk to him.

"Does Vivian perk anything to you suspicion-wise?" Bobbery questioned. Yoshi turned around and surveyed the area before replying.

"Is she one of your suspects?" Yoshi whispered, still deciding to talk in a low voice.

"Well, she has been for a while," Bobbery admitted, looking at the distant rim of Pianta Village's surrounding crater. "And I think she could possibly be my number-one suspect."

Yoshi: _Bobbery had so much trust in me that he was even telling me his number-one suspect for the game. If I trust Bobbery back, then I think I'd tell him mine too. But the problem is, I wasn't sure if I trusted him just enough._

"I always thought she was too innocent to be a suspect," Yoshi said truthfully. Bobbery's eyes widened heavily at him.

"Lad," he started. "Do you think that everything in this game is really as it seems? By all means, our own host is a trickster. How can you judge someone solely on their appearance? You will be stumbling over your own tracks."

"Well, I don't want that," Yoshi thought with dislike.

"Either I've been a lucky sailor and doing correct questionnaires randomly," Bobbery said with conclusion, "or I'm somewhere along the right tracks."

"I've been going for a certain player, and I've been surviving," Yoshi finally said. "Does that mean that both of us could be on the right track?"

"In a way, it could be so," Bobbery considered, furrowing his eyebrows. "But at the same time it can mean that we've both been lucky, and have been going for the wrong people this entire game." In a weird sense of feeling that made them both troubled, they continued their walk in silence.

* * *

Sitting in the tall grass on the West side of the village were two more players, both notebooks open and in discussion. Perhaps choosing their location subconsciously due to the fact that the grass hid them from plain view, Luvbi and Vivian talked at a considerably relaxed level. No one was around them.

"So what did you recognize?" Luvbi asked her. "I'd be more than intrigued to know what made you shocked after yesterday's mission. It scared me to be honest." Vivian smiled, still continuing to look down.

"Just something...small," Vivian said. "When we went to meet Bobbery after the mission was over, he was relaxing near the side of the Jacuzzi." Luvbi looked puzzled.

"So?" she questioned.

"We just saw Bobbery make it to the very top of a tree on the television, and as soon as we walk into the village, he's already down to the floor." Both females looked to their left, at the towering tree that extended a far distance both vertically and in the opposite direction from them. Luvbi looked at her journal.

"I'll keep that in mind," Luvbi said, "because it is true. That is indeed…weird." Luvbi scribbled something into her journal.

"So...does that make you suspicious of Bobbery?"

"Well, maybe, and I've been thinking so more recently," Vivian said, nodding. She turned to a page in her notebook that had _WARIO_ written in capital letters. Luvbi's head nodded as well.

* * *

"So, umm....I think Goombella might be a suspect of mine," Yoshi said quickly to Bobbery. "What do you say?" Bobbery's face turned perplexed, yet intrigued.

"Goombella...not in particular," Bobbery said, his eyebrows furrowing again. "Any reasons though?" Yoshi shrugged, yet his eyes showed certainty.

"Sometimes, she just doesn't seem like a player at all," Yoshi told him. "Her intelligence might just be a fraud, and we're all taking it as like…something natural for her. I don't know why, but she always looks like she's hiding a second side to her. Even if she doesn't say anything."

"But she's a scholar and a thriving student," Bobbery pointed out. "I think her intellect might even exceed that of mine, which I hate to admit."

"Then just thirty minutes ago she was heavily suspecting Luvbi for something that didn't really make sense," Yoshi added. "She has a tendency to accuse people, and the Mole likes doing that, right?

"I've noticed that too," Bobbery said, "and the Mole would be making perfect sense in accusing others. Diverting suspicion, rno? I see sense in your thinking." He took a jot into his journal.

"Do you think she might be the Mole?" Yoshi asked him. Bobbery just looked forwards for a moment, not saying anything. The sun was not bright anymore, but rather, sinking further into the line that made the horizon.

"I guess we're entitled to our own suspects," Bobbery replied, "and we'll all take the paths that we choose."

* * *

"When Wario touched that camera on that first morning," Luvbi asked, memory going back to the beginning of their episode, "Did you notice the way he touched it?" Vivian looked down at the sole name written on her journal page.

"It was as if he knew it was important," Luvbi finished. "If I could go back in time and show you those few crucial seconds, I would."

"No, I remember," said Vivian. "Like, Wario did it in such a way that looked as if he didn't care. I thought he was going to put it around his neck, but he just put it back down on the breakfast table."

"It's funny, because I remember that moment much better now than ever before," Luvbi said, her interest arising.. "And little did we know that by touching the camera, you would be eligible for winning an exemption, by going against the team and losing money." Both players turned to look at each other.

"Wario...could he be it?" Vivian wondered.

"One thing I have noticed is that Wario causes a lot of drama in our games," Luvbi said. "The Mole probably likes drama. Anything to jumble up the game and the minds of the players. If anyone, Wario has done the best job so far in doing that." Vivian wrote something down in her journal.

"Yoshi causes drama too," Vivian said. "I've noticed that he's broken so many rules this episode and even fights with McHallyboo sometimes. Just based on sabotage, I guess that puts him as a possibility."

"The Mole has to divert suspicion away from themself too," Luvbi stated. "It's not just sabotage they're after. Appearing the least suspicious is like...a second occupation for him or her."

"Do you think Goombella could be the Mole?" Vivian began, but Luvbi stopped her. Pointing to a player emerging from around the corner, both Vivian and Luvbi made the decision to stand up on their feet and walk further forwards. As Goombella walked down the path right besides the array of tall plants, Luvbi and Vivian were already gone.

* * *

Gathering for dinner, night fell for the third time since the players first arrived at Pianta Village. The sun now gone and the moon appearing unusually big like always, all six of them gathered around the prepared table, a dinner feast taking place within the village and located not too far away from the village's entrance.

"Glad you came to finally join us," McHallyboo said to Wario, the last player to arrive for their meal. The others saw a journal tucked under his arm as he sat down.

"Late night sleuthing?" Goombella assumed. "And where have you been today anyway?"

"I've been avoiding people," Wario said, giving a glare at Gombella and grabbing a bowl of pasta primavera from the center of the table. "People like you."

"Well, it obviously worked cause I was doing the same exact thing," Goombella said, rolling her eyes.

Wario: _At one point during today Goombella tried to talk to me, but I just ignored her. I admit it wasn't exactly the nicest thing to do, but who says you have to talk to anyone? Overall, I didn't really interact with anyone else._

"Well, I'd like to give my best wishes to all of you," McHallyboo said. "As you all know, we gave today off so you could collect your last minute thoughts, in preparation for your fifth quiz. By the end of tonight, just half of you will be remaining, since the very start of our game." The players took a look in front of them, picturing how crowded of a table it would have been with double the amount of people present. It also gave them all a surprised feeling, realizing that their entire group had been cut in half since the first day of their adventure.

"Everything went so quick," Vivian realized.

"After dinner tonight, you will be taken one by one across the bridge to take your quiz," McHallyboo said, pointing in the direction of the village's entrance. "A laptop and a comfortable table awaits you, the same table which you might recognize as the one that previously held your rather unpleasant dishes from yesterday's mission. No exemptions were won this episode, so everyone will be elligible for execution tonight. The lowest scorer, as you all know, will be sent home."

"Well," Bobbery contemplated, as he looked around at the remaining players at the table. "It may just be me, but picturing just five players remaining...it makes me shake my head. We're all going to fight a significant level higher next round, now aren't we?"

"But one of us won't be making it there," Yoshi corrected. The players fell once again to the usual dull silence.

Luvbi: _We're already all a bunch of cutthroats, so from this point on, it's just going to get worse. We just have to see who goes on and who doesn't._

Yoshi: _After today, I'm having different thoughts on how to take this quiz. My mind might tell me to go one way, but my gut instinct might tell me to go another._

Wario: _I'm a bit solid on most of my suspicions. Maybe a little bit more than the others are, which in this case, I'm just going to use to my advantage. Even if it isn't an advantage._

"Hopefully you'll all be prepared to take your quizzes when dinner is over," McHallyboo said to all of them. The knife in his hand reflected against the moon's light, then gave off a piercing glow as he set it back down.

"I'll be waiting for one of you," he added. "Good luck."

* * *

Each player was brought across the bridge that separated Pianta Village's body from its exit to take the quiz. Though logically not an exit due to the fact that it frankly led to nowhere but the mere side of the mountain, it was an escape from the lively contents of the village, as well as from everyone else. Forced to be secluded alone, each player took the quiz with just their own mind to rely on, and their own suspicions.

The first to make his way across the bridge was Bobbery. Stepping with most care, he reached the table at the other end of the bridge and sat down. The quiz was on the laptop, and he answered the first question.

_**1. The Mole is:**_

_**-Male**_

_**-Female**_

Bobbery: _From what I know, we are all going for many different people on this quiz. It's been four episodes in, and the fifth one is about to end, and some of us still aren't certain on who to choose. But all I know is that I feel a strange sense of certainty. Others do as well._

_**2. In Snap to See, what was the Mole's given position?**_

_**-The Camera Killer**_

_**-The Objective Retriever**_

_**-The Navigator**_

_**-A Photographer**_

Vivian: _We're all still suspicious of why Wario went forth to touch the camera on our first morning. Just the way he touched it, and the fact that it gave him a key role in our first mission, it made us all wonder whether it was something deeper than just a simple coicidence. _

_Flashback __**Wario**__: "What is this thing anyway?" (picks up the camera, wraps the next strap around it, then puts it back down)_

_Flashback __**McHallyboo:**__ (later that day) "The player who will take the role as exemption hunter is the player who was first to touch the camera at this morning's breakfast. Wario!" (Wario grins)_

_**3. Was the Mole photographed by the Camera Killer during Snap to See?**_

_**-Yes**_

_**-No**_

Yoshi: _Goombella was the only person during that game who had a full arial view of what was happening. When Bobbery got shot, she could have seen Wario sneaking up on us, at least thirty feet away and warned us in time. And when she talked to me afterwards, her excuse for not warning us didn't even make sense._

_Flashback __**Goombella**__: (panting into the walkie-talkie) "I should have warned you about Wario coming. He darted so fast, and I couldn't even react."_

_**4. How many Picture Objectives did the Mole manage to successfully obtain with their camera?**_

_**-None**_

_**-1**_

_**-2**_

_**-3 or more**_

_**-The Mole was not a photographer**_

_Goombella:__ Luvbi, when she was relaying the Picture Objectives to us, did something really weird that I still can't even comprehend: she missed an entire line in the Picture Objective paper while reading it to us. Maybe she made the mistake on purpose, planned for it to go undetected, and was caught off guard when McHallyboo publicly announced it to us. That's why she made it so obvious and open._

_Flashback __**Luvbi:**__ (reading the Picture Objective to Vivian) "It says, 'Snap the camera hunter, and make this game over.'"_

_Flashback __**McHallyboo**__: (after the game) "This is the Picture Objective that was present in the game." (reveals the actual Picture Objective from the game, containing an additional missed sentence)_

Goombella: _Luvbi does the most things in this game that just don't make sense._

_**5. How many journal entries did the Mole guess for during the mission Page 6?**_

_**-One**_

_**-Two**_

_**-Three or more**_

_**-The Mole didn't guess for any entries**_

Bobbery: _The thing that put us all at risk was Vivian writing nothing on her sixth page. Considering that we all wrote down a plethora of notes since Day 1, Vivian not reaching up to Page 6 holds little logic. The other only possibility is that she had skipped the sixth page in her journal. That holds no logic at all either._

_(flashback of McHallyboo holding up the empty journal page from the journal mission)_

Yoshi: _Like Bobbery said, Vivian is suspicious. Judging people on outer appearance would be a mistake._

_**6. What mushroom did the Mole receive during The Fungi Prediction?**_

_**-The Bitter One**_

_**-The Sour One**_

_**-The Spicy One**_

_**-The Sweet One**_

_**-The Salty One**_

_**-The Mole was taking a tour**_

Wario: _Out of nowhere during the Fungi Prediction, Yoshi just stuffs the mushroom into his mouth, even when he had specifically seen me and Goombella do our own round. We all know rules are very important in this game, and Yoshi just went without even thinking for a second._

_Flashback __**McHallyboo**__: "Hold it, no eating yet!" (Yoshi spits back his mushroom onto the plate)_

Luvbi: _Not too many people remember this, but even before we started choosing mushrooms, Goombella kept on repeating, 'I am not going to eat those black mushrooms!' The black-colored mushrooms ended up being the sweet ones. Maybe she was trying to throw the weaker players, like Vivian, off from eating the easiest mushroom, which in the end worked perfectly._

_Flashback __**Goombella:**__ (looks with disgust at the black mushrooms) "I am NOT choosing that black-colored one."_

_**7. The Mole was offered the possibility to receive which of the following items this episode?**_

_**-An Exemption**_

_**-A Neutralizer**_

_**-Nothing**_

Goombella: _Bobbery was offered to help us during Snap to See, if he took a neutralizer for himself. But he refused, due to the fact that he didn't want to eliminate himself from later exemptions that episode. But if Wario was already being offered an exemption at that moment, what made him think that there would be another one to come later into play? He basically gave up a chance to help, with no threat anywhere._

_Flashback __**Bobbery: **__(when asked for a reason for his refusal) "Five minutes wouldn't have made much of a difference, anyway."_

_**8. Did the Mole physically relax in the waters of the hot springs last night?**_

_**-Yes**_

_**-No**_

Yoshi: _Bobbery surprised us all when he didn't pick up that can of soda on the floor. During the Mushroom mission, he just walked right past it, without even bothering to look back at it or acknowledge that it was even there._

_(flashback of Bobbery on the television monitor, his foot barely missing the can of cola as he walked by)_

Yoshi: _Bobbery is my closest person here, but he's done so many Moley actions this episode that it makes me think twice of what he's been saying to me._

_**9. Which of these months was the Mole born in?**_

_**-January-March**_

_**-April-June**_

_**-July-September**_

_**-October-June**_

Luvbi: _Everyone talked and discussed with at least somebody during today's free time. Wario, on the other hand, talked with nobody. It made me even more suspicious to know that he actually tried avoiding Goombella when she approached him. _

_Flashback **Wario: **"I've been avoiding people." (glares at Goombella at the dinner table, who looks back at him)_

Luvbi: _He's hard to read. You can still be the Mole but act entirely like yourself. It would be extremely difficult to know if he was it._

Goombella: _I see Luvbi spending a great deal of time with Vivian. If Luvbi's the Mole, then I think she's pulling other people onto her side. It's just like a trap, and just like what the Mole would do._

_**10. Who is the Mole?**_

_**-Luvbi**_

_**-Bobbery**_

_**-Yoshi**_

_**-Wario**_

_**-Vivian**_

_**-Goombella**_

* * *

Just minutes prior to the execution, a helicopter had made its way to the village's entrance, landing safely on the thin layer of grass ruffles. The land was no longer empty, though just moments before it had been holding a large table and a crucial laptop, a device which each player had one by one submitted their final answers into for the quiz. With an arrived helicopter, the players could only assume that there would be just one passenger aboard it as it propelled off once more into the sky. The next victim was soon to be determined.

The players were evacuated to the other end of Pianta Village, to the East side, where they found an appropriate location for their next execution: around a fire place. Taking the chairs that surrounded the lit fire, they resembled in appearance something of a group, or a clan, as the miniature fire blazed before each one of them. McHallyboo was on the other side of the fire place, sitting in his own chair. Besides him was the television screen, some of the players recognizing it as the very TV from their latest mission. With it being so close to the fire, the players saw it as a foreboding that the fire reflected cleanly off the television's front, almost as if it was the fire that was being displayed on the screen instead of a thumbprint.

"Welcome, players, to your fifth execution," McHallyboo said. "Tonight, we will be determining our fifth executed player. I hope you all like the conflagration set before you. I lit it minutes before you arrived just for the occasion."

"I see you also had a helicopter arrive for us," Luvbi pointed out to the host. McHallyboo made a small grin.

"And that is what will be whisking one of you away, I'm afraid," he said. "One by one, I will begin entering your names into the computer. If the thumbprint turns green, then you are safe, and you remain in the game. If the thumbprint turns red, that means you performed the lowest on the quiz and is the Mole's fifth victim. You must leave the game immeditely. Is everyone ready?" The players all gave their nods. As the fire gave out another crackle, McHallyboo straightened his back into the chair.

"The execution begins," he concluded. "Good luck." He put his hands into his lap.

"Would anyone like to volunteer to go first?" he asked. For a second, nobody did anything. Then slowly, Wario raised his hand into the air.

"Let me go first and just end the worried feelings," he grumbled, almost to himself. McHallyboo began to type his name into the computer.

**W-A-R-I-O**

_**...**_

_**...**_

_**...**_

_**...**_

**GREEN**

Wario sat back fully into his own seat, sighing and relaxing into his chair.

"Anyone else?" McHallyboo asked. After a longer period of silence than last time, Luvbi then raised her hand into the air.

"Luvbi," said the host. As her name was slowly typed into the computer, Luvbi looked straight into the screen, her lips pursed and attempting to keep a calm face. The host pressed 'Enter'.

**L-U-V-B-I**

**...**

**...**

**...**

**...**

**GREEN**

Luvbi breathed heavily, and at the same time made a small nod to herself. McHallyboo looked over the faces of the remaining other players.

"All right, I'll go," Goombella said, as McHallyboo gave out a small smile. He began typing her name into the computer, as Goombella looked at the screen, mouth open with hesitation and anticipation at the same time.

**G-O-O-M-B-E-L-L-A**

**...**

**...**

**...**

**...**

**GREEN**

Goombella closed her mouth, smiling with relief at the same time as the screen turned once again to its original color. Three players remained.

"Any more volunteers?" McHallyboo questioned.

"I'll...go," Yoshi said, raising his hand slowly. The host slowly entered his name into the computer, as Yoshi looked up with uncertainty to see his name being entered letter by letter, into the screen. McHallyboo then pressed the 'Enter' button.

**Y-O-S-H-I**

**...**

**...**

**...**

**...**

**GREEN**

Yoshi lowered his head with relief, facing the ground and sighing. Four players had been declared safe.

"I'll go next," Vivian said suddenly. There were two players remaining, and as Bobbery faced the screen grimly as well, McHallyboo entered the next name into the computer. All six players watched to see the victim for that very night.

**V-I-V-I-A-N**

**...**

**...**

**...**

**...**

**GREEN**

"Well," Bobbery stated, his face displaying an ambiguous look. The host completed the execution by typing his name in as the sixth and final player.

**B-O-B-B-E-R-Y**

**...**

**...**

**...**

**...**

_**RED**_

"I am sorry Bobbery, but you have been executed," McHallyboo confirmed. "Your bag is at the entrance of the village. Please follow me."

Bobbery got up from his chair and walked past the fire pit. Before he was completely done with walking past the television monitor though, he turned around, faced the players with a honorary smile, and gave a salute. As he turned around to leave, the other players were left laughing, with both respect and amusement. At the same time, they were also saddened.

* * *

Both host and player made their way across Pianta Village, in no particular route or path. The episode was over.

"I went with that I truly felt," Bobbery said, voice gruffed yet not angry at all. "And that's what led to my downfall."

"Anything can happen," McHallyboo said, "but you did a fine job in this game, sir." Seeing a pile of bags by the bridge's entrance, McHallyboo went to grab it for Bobbery, but the executed player just shook his head and stepped up himself to grab it.

"I carried it here, and now I carry it home," he said with a beam, then began his final shaky walk across Pianta Village's bridge.

* * *

"Oh, he's so noble," Luvbi said, smiling to herself at Bobbery's final action.

"Bobbery was really the most respected player here," Goombella spoke. "Wherever he managed to go or whatever he did, he'd always be giving us words of advice. And his words were always true."

_Flashback __**Bobbery**__:_ _"Well, a game is a game. But morals shouldn't change within a game." (the aggravated players within the boat turn to look at him)_

"I don't know why, but I'm going to miss him," Yoshi said glumly. "He kinda played a grandfather role for me. And...I guess that made me happy." At his last sentence, others saw tears form in his eyes.

"But even with his age, it didn't even stop him from coming here," Vivian said, as the others all nodded with heavy agreement. "Jumping, running, swimming...he did it all and he enjoyed it too. I'm really going to miss him also."

_(flashback of Bobbery swimming to shore with a bag in his possession) "Sixth bag! Four more to go!"_

"Yeah, and he was probably more physically fit than most of us," Wario said reluctantly, causing the others to laugh. "It was really fun setting up that island party with him. I complained through the whole thing, but...it was actually fun. I just didn't want to admit it until now."

_Flashback __**Bobbery**__: "It's spick and span, and presentable." (steps back to admire the set-up banner from their Island Bash mission)_

"So are you saying that the ridiculous stuff happening right now are the things you'll miss later, Wario?" Goombella teased.

"Only like...one percent of it," Wario said, changing his voice to a non-compassionate one.

"We'll all see though when you get executed," Luvbi said calmly.

"Or when _you_ get executed," Wario snapped at her." Luvbi just laughed.

* * *

"Ah, and you got me the best mode of transportation for my journey back," Bobbery said, pleasantly surprised as he finally approached the vehicle to take him home. The helicopter door opened, as Bobbery made his way inside.

"We were going to make a boat," McHallyboo started, "but...figured you've been on one much too many times."

"Well McHallyboo, I've wanted to get on one and sail from this place since the first day," Bobbery said, grinning and shaking his head. McHallyboo handed him his bag, and stepped back.

"A pleasure to have met you, Bobbery. Have a safe flight." As the propeller of the vehicle started up once again, McHallyboo stepped back cautiously to make way for the helicopter's rise. A circle of wind could be seen in the short grass of the terrain, and McHallyboo had to hold his own hat to prevent the immense and continuous gust of wind from taking his hat away. Flying away, its image became more tranquil as the helicopter matched with the moon in the sky, shining bigger than ever before. So was the smile of the player aboard the chopper.

_

* * *

_

_On the next episode of The Mole: Saboteur's Island:_

The player count is cut in half. The final five participate in the game's most intense mission to date, forcing them to endure a series of misleading and consequence-resulting tests.

Vivian: _I can't get out!_

Luvbi: _You're right. One of us do have to be left behind._

And the players get heated over a simple mission, concerning one simple question.

McHallyboo: _Who here at this table wants an exemption?_

What does next episode hold in store? Who will be victim, and who is the Mole?

* * *

**Our fifth victim: Bobbery! He leaves the game, and is not the Mole.**

**Speaking which, my memory goes back to a certain message in my inbox that I had received, much many many months ago. I won't say particularly who, but as I look back, I can't help but remember myself chuckling while reading the message for the first time:**

_Just a tip which I hope is helpful, but I think you need to up your game a little bit. I can say with very near certainty that Bobbery is the mole so you perhaps need to do a better job of adding more confusion and dissaray to the game. Not gonna tell you how to do your job, though, as I imagine you have all of this planned out already, but perhaps a little more subtlety would help._

_Behold, my 2 cents. _

**Ah, and I thank the sender of that message so much xD A good guess though, I must say! But as the game goes, I'm pretty sure a lot of you will be just as surprised. We'll see how it all goes, shall we? :)**

**Also a quick note: the website is currently facing some issues and lacks an update, due to logging in problems concerning the website Weebly. Haven't been there in weeks actually, so it might be the site's error on an error on my part. Regardless, hopefully I can get this issue fixed asap x.x**

**Anyways, stay tuned for the start of the next episode!**


	23. Five Become One

**The next episode! The games get heavier, and we're down to our final half.**

* * *

**Episode 6**

_And next, we find ourselves deeper into the game, with only half of the players remaining since the very beginning. Bobbery, the grandfather of the game, had been sent home. With his wise words gone, each player now has to focus on their own personal navigation to move on. The missions get more complex, and more tense. For every move, there is a consequence, and the players must decide just which moves to take as the traitor continues to play in this game. Those wise moves have to last though, because the traitor will be playing nonstop to the game's very end. Playing both recklessly and against the others, that person is the Mole._

**Who is the Mole?**

**Vivian**

Surname: Shadens

Birthday: October 4

Occupation: Visual Display Artist

**Goombella**

Surname: Frankster

Birthday: April 16

Occupation: Archeologist

**Wario**

Surname: Garlimo

Birthday: September 29

Occupation: Moneylender/Explorer

**Yoshi**

Surname: Dino

Birthday: April 13

Occupation: Fruiterer/Waiter

**Luvbi**

Surname: Nimbis

Birthday: May 5

Occupation: Harpist/Oracle

* * *

Goombella: _Bobbery was definitely a suspect for me, but he wasn't my top one, which just relieves me and confuses me even more._

Luvbi: _People tell lies here and there. I mean, honestly, I think I've told at least a handful of lies up to this point. But it keeps me in the game._

Yoshi: _Bobbery might have been telling me the truth about his whole game, or he might have been lying. I'll probably never know._

Vivian: _I think it's weird that people think I'm a suspect. Luvbi said I've been a suspect by more than one person in the past. I guess they have reasons though?_

Wario: _We're dead center in the game. I really don't know what's happening, or who the Mole is, so any thoughts could switch for me at any moment. I have to find a solid strategy._

* * *

The game was down to five players. Once double the amount, the number had dwindled at an exceeding rate. In soon time though, there would only be three.

The players were taken by another helicopter away from the event-filled Pianta Village, and were back brought to Delfino Plaza. Returning to the now-familiar location, the players got their belongings and were relieved to discover that a mission wasn't in store. Instead, three hotel cards were given to them, assigned to rooms within the hotel.

"Hey, three?" Wario questioned.

"So?" McHallyboo told them all. "That doesn't stop at the fact that you all can share. Share cards, share rooms. Feel free to relax. These aren't your sleeping rooms though." The players entered the hotel and scattered immediately among the assigned rooms. Of course, this only meant more free time for discussion.

* * *

With last night's events lingering in their heads, Goombella and Yoshi had headed to a room themselves. Knowing that from every executed player came an adantage, the two of them were attempting to recollect every piece of information that existed within Bobbery before his ultimate leave.

"But he suspected Vivian," said Yoshi. "She was the only person Bobbery talked about the day of the quiz. Who else could he have gone for?"

"Yoshi, unless you actually physically saw Bobbery take the quiz that night, you have no idea what his last thoughts were," she pointed out to him. "I mean, for all we know, he could have been...well, lying to you. Who knows?"

"Bobbery wouldn't lie to me, would he?" Yoshi said, sounding uncertain.

"I think anyone would lie in this game to win," Goombella said, looking down at the carpet.

Goombella: _Have I lied to people in this game to get here? In honesty, not really. But I might have to turn that certain direction if I want to stay in this game._

"If Bobbery lied, then I'm not mad," Yoshi said, shrugging. "He was playing the game like any other good player would. I don't blame him." Goombella nodded, giving out a small smile.

"He was a good player," Goombella agreed. "I'm happy he made it as far as he did. But I'm afraid his strategy failed, whatever it was." Yoshi picked up the hotel card on the floor that was between the two of them.

"Don't you find it odd," he wondered, "that McHallyboo didn't give us enough hotel cards? Do you think he wanted us to discuss stuff by being in the same room?"

"I'm trying to get an idea," Goombella thought. "I wonder who's by themself. Three rooms. Two and two. One left alone."

* * *

Unsurprisingly, it was Wario who was sequestered alone for now, and Vivian and Luvbi who took the last room besides him. The two females were discussing last night's events, but not solely on Bobbery as an individual. With a suspect gone, they could focus more on the three remaining players that existed besides them. But in truth, their suspect range held four, if they counted each other.

"Bobbery suspected you, I think," Luvbi said, as Vivian's eyes widened.

"But speaking which, I don't believe you're the Mole anyway," Luvbi continued.

"And neither do I," Vivian said. The two of them smiled.

Vivian: _I think Luvbi is trustworthy enough to speak to. Out of all people since the very start, she was the one I had trust in from the very beginning._

Luvbi: _Vivian is a good person to talk to. She's easy to take advantage of, so being with someone who could be the Mole would be the worst for her._

"We have three suspects," Luvbi listed. "Goombella, Yoshi, and Wario."

"Well, I've been thinking about those three for hours now," Vivian admitted. "Ever since this morning, I've been trying to decide my heaviest suspect out of those three."

"Well, we know Goombella and Yoshi are together in one of the rooms," Luvbi recalled. "So Wario's alone?" Vivian nodded.

"Isn't it weird that Wario's alone all the time?" Luvbi said. "He did it yesterday the entire day before the execution, remember? And now, he's doing it right now."

"Maybe it's just his strategy," Vivian considered. "I sometimes stay alone to concentrate. Maybe Wario is concentrating." Luvbi looked at her door, picturing a room of her own with no individuals around. She twirled the card key in her hand.

"I doubt it's simply a strategy," Luvbi said, "but regardless, that keeps us from knowing what he might know. We have to go after him, at this very moment." Luvbi got up to her feet.

"But wait...how are you going to do that?" Vivian said with confusion.

"I'll knock on his door," Luvbi replied simply, and headed out, leaving Vivian alone by herself.

* * *

"Yeah, hey...wait, what do you want!" Wario said, startled at seeing Luvbi at his doorstep. Nearly dropping the journal in his hand, Wario turned to face her. Peering behind his body, Luvbi could see that his belongings were scattered within his temporarily-owned room, as if he had claimed it already for himself.

"Oh, nothing," Luvbi said, trying to keep a straight face. "I've been kicked out by Goombella, I'm afraid. She wants to be alone."

"Wasn't Goombella with Yoshi?" Wario asked, looking puzzled. Luvbi let out an exaggerated sigh.

"It appears I'm unwanted by them," she stated to him. "They're tight on discussion." Wario only seemed to block the doorway even more with his body.

Wario: _Out of all people, it had to be the most cunning player who wanted to enter my room. And I had no idea what she was up to or had in store in that mind of hers._

"Well, you've come to the wrong place," he said, becoming even more agitated, "cause I'm not letting you in here. I got the card first, and now here I am. I think you should S-C-R-A-M."

"Then we don't have to enter the room," Luvbi reasoned. "How about we sit at the lobby? We can attempt to get privy on certain secret information from McHallyboo."

"Okay, first of all, McHallyboo's probably not even in the lobby," Wario said to her, his foot stamping once, "two, even if he happened to be down there, I wouldn't go with you. Going with you would probably make me even more lost."

"Oh, how so?" Luvbi scoffed at him. "It's not just me you're avoiding. You're being...solitary."

"Solitary? You're more solitary than me!" Wario said, his voice getting even more heated at her. "Find somewhere else to go. Conjure up a storm with someone else. Anyone but me." Luvbi just stood her ground, unmoving.

"Well, if you insist," she said finally, and turned around, hearing a door close immediately the second she turned one-hundred and eighty degrees.

* * *

Dinner was eaten nowhere else. The Durian Cafe was open to them all, and the players felt a weird sense of nostalgia bring in the room. They were in good moods due to the fact that the episode had just begun, but a gut feeling told them all that a mission was in store for them that very night. With this in mind, they couldn't help but notice the pile of coins located in the very center of the table they were eating at.

"Did someone leave their tip on the table from last time?" Vivian wondered out loud.

"A waiter never leaves a customer's tip," Yoshi said with certainty. "Take my word."

"Well, I'm sure McHallyboo knows nothing about it," Goombella said with heavy sarcasm, turning to the host besides her. They were all seated at a circular-shaped table, and as the end of dinner approached, the waiter did something he usually didn't do: he left a small slate on the table, and on it, their amount to pay for the meal.

"Well, so who's paying the bill?" Wario questioned, folding his arms. "You're not getting me to give in anything."

"There's a plethora of coins in the middle of the table," Luvbi said plainly, "and apparently they will pay for us, right?"

"But why not give in what you already have, instead of making it a hassle and reaching for other things?" McHallyboo reasoned to them. The players all looked at him curiously, taking in his spoken words. Vivian slowly reached into her pocket.

"I have a coin," she said. Yoshi immediately reached into his own pocket and took out a coin as well, and the two of them put it on the waiter's slate. Goombella had a red coin in her pocket, and placed it as well onto the table.

"Well, I have two, luckily," Luvbi said, showing a small sense of want in giving in her own money. All remaining eyes turned to the player who was yet to pay: Wario.

"But there are coins right there!" Wario said with disbelief, pointing at the visible pile. "There's no point in wasting our own money. What are you trying to do anyway, you host?" McHallyboo remained unresponsive.

"It's either we all do it or we all don't do it," Goombella said to him. "So are you going to?" Wario turned to her, then to the remaining others, but the direction of his head was fixed at the check and donated coins.

"Please?" Vivian said. "We don't know what's gonna happen. But let's just try it. Let's all pay for the bill." After a short moment, Wario finally reached into his pocket, his face and hand reluctant as he dropped the final necessary three coins onto the slate. Their check was finally paid in total.

"So...what happens now?" Yoshi asked, as everyone turned to face McHallyboo. The host gave a shrug.

"Oh, nothing really," McHallyboo said, sounding confused. "Except that you all generously decided to pay for the bill instead of us. Much appreciated kindness!" The faces of the players dropped.

"Oh, what revelance," Luvbi said with a dissatisfied face. "Did we just do nothing else but pay for a meal?"

Vivian: _I thought we were supposed to do something with the money on the table, but when the check came, I was the first person who decided to just pay with my own money. And everyone followed. If we did something wrong, then the blame would go to me. _

Goombella: _I thought it was weird in the first place that we were given the check. I don't think this was a random act, and I don't think it's over. Maybe depending on the order we paid, it'll be our next positions in our later mission to come. Just thinking about it makes it even more confusing._

* * *

That night, Mchallyboo issued new rooms within the hotel for them, and the players found comfort in knowing that the day spent was a relaxing day. Though the day was characterized by countless and rising questions, all five of them felt a sense of lessened anxiety, knowing that even if questions still existed, a warm bed never failed to signify the end of a pleasant day.

But the day was to end far from pleasant. As the players slept back in their hotel rooms that night, most of them were unaware of the fact that the night was destined to end far from safe and over. A shocking mission was in store for them, something harrowing and undesirable that would take them all by surprise.

That night, five people were kidnapped, but not from Delfino Plaza. A game from below awaited them.

* * *

"Umph..." Vivian slowly awoke from her sleep, feeling a wall pressed against her back. Slowly raising her head, she realized that she was sitting on a cold, platformish ground, and when she stood up, she felt something strapped to her waist: a belt, positioned tightly around the midsection of her body. In front of her was a door, closed and shut, leaving her trapped on all sides. Vivian gasped.

"Hello?" she called out loud. Turning to look to her side, she covered her mouth in shock. Through sets of bars, she could make out the shapes of everyone else, slouched and sleeping on the floor just like she had been doing. Right next to her she could see Yoshi, full body on the ground.

"Yoshi!" she cried, grabbing onto the set of prison-like bars that separated them. The sound awakened Yoshi as he woke up to a jump. Getting to his feet he looked around, noticed the belt around his waist, and whimpered.

"Where are we?" he cried. Vivian faced him, her face equally troubled.

"What in the heavens?" came the voice of Luvbi, perplexed. "What has happened to us?" She stood up immediately and tried walking forwards, but noticed something to her dismay: a cord was attached to the back of her belt, and kept her from moving. At the same time, both Vivian and Yoshi felt a tug on both their own bodies. From the commotion, Wario had been awakened as well, as his eyes shot open.

"What the...get me out of here!" Wario shouted, getting up to his feet and banging on both vertical bar cagings at his sides. Right besides him and located at the room's other end was Goombella, who finally woke up. Making it slowly to her feet, she found herself trapped between four walls, just like everyone else was. All five players were trapped in individual cells.

"Is everyone okay?" shouted Goombella, looking with apprehension and confusion at their predicament.

"Waking up and knowing you've been kidnapped...geez!" Wario snapped, looking at her through the vertical bars between them. "Where in the heck are we anyway?"

"There's a belt around my waist and I can't remove it," Yoshi said, panicking.

"There's a belt around me too," Vivian said, all the way from the other end of the row of cells. "And it connects into the wall by a cord." She grabbed onto the cord behind her with one hand, not daring to pull it.

"Okay, we're all in cells, apparently," Luvbi confirmed to them all. "All of us are trapped in cells individually. And between each of us on our sides are metal bars, separating us."

"If we're separated, that means we're not supposed to interact, right?" Goombella said, thinking.

"But we can still talk," Luvbi reasoned.

"Maybe we need to all do something individually?" Goombella wondered.

"I don't want to do anything but get out of here," Wario told them all, eyeing the metal door in front of him carefully. "The door in front of me is the only way to get out!"" Before each player and blocking their only way to an exit was a metal door, nothing on its front but a screen monitor, a red button, and a small slit, located where the knob would usually be. The five of them all looked at their own doors with heavy curiosity, then turned back to face each other.

"Should we push the buttons?" Yoshi asked out loud. "Will they open our doors?"

"Nothing's certain," Goombella said cautiously.

"My floor seems so shaky," Vivian noticed, nervously looking to her ground.

"As does mine," Luvbi realized, taking her own stomp on the ground below her. "It seems...hollow below."

"The screen is supposed to come on, isn't it?" Goombella said, looking forwards. "Maybe instructions are supposed to appear for us."

"But it should have turned on by now," Luvbi pointed out. "Frankly we're doing nothing, and by looking around, I would suggest we do something before something happens to us."

"Okay, well, let's do something then!" Wario said with annoyance, and stepped forwards. As soon as he did so, everyone else stumbled simultaneously backwards with a shout, their cords at their waists pulled back without warning. Luvbi banged on the side of her metal bars that separated her and Wario, immediately causing him to halt.

"Stop!" she ordered, taking a step forwards herself. "We're all connected. Our cords are interconnected. If one of us moves, the rest of us are pulled back."

"Then what do we-" Vivian started, but stopped as a loud whoosh of static filled the air. Each monitor flashed on, displaying the image of a character that they were all too familiar with. The five players were almost in a trance, their attention immediately turned to the screens pasted on the back of each of their doors.

"Hello, and welcome," spoke the host, his voice projecting from the screen and face appearing more serious than usual. "You're all probably wondering where you are right now. More importantly though, you're probably all wondering what this is. This is your next mission. Everything is unclear, but I assure you all that by the time this is all done, you will all have a clearer understanding of this game's true purpose. You've all been fighting for yourselves up to this very point. But tonight, this singular way of thinking will be put to the test. Tonight...five will become one, with a common goal of survival." The players listened, their mind racing and eyes fixed to their own screen.

"Right now you're each locked in a cell," McHallyboo continued. "The only way to get out is through the use of a card key on your door. Press the red button in front of you, and a card will fall from the ceiling for you to use. Your belt will also be unbuckled. Keep this in mind though: once the first button is pushed and activated, a sixty second timer will begin for you all. At the end of that timer, all belts will be unlocked, and the floor below you will open up, sending you into darkness."

"Oh my gosh," whispered Vivian. The players all froze and looked to their floorings. Realizing that their floors felt lighter than usual, in the disguise of a dirty hard floor they all saw that the ground below them was in reality nothing more than just two simple flaps, seen by a line going vertically between their bodies. They were yet to open.

"After the fourth door is opened though, all belts would be unshackled. However, there is one more fact you should reconsider: a key can only be dropped every fifteen seconds. In calculating the time available to the rate of cards being dropped, you will see that something does not add up. Your life-long instincts tell you to do one thing, but I implore you to do the opposite. This game is worth forty-thousand coins. Make your choice." All screens shut off simulataneously, confusing the players. Within a split second later, something else popped up in red digits upon their monitors: the number **60**.

"The sixty second timer," Yoshi gulped, staring at the glowing digits. "But why hasn't it started yet?"

"The video said that it'll only start when the first button is pushed," Vivian remembered.

"Sixty seconds...a card every fifteen seconds," Goombella said, her face turning into a perplexed look. "Wait, if there are only sixty seconds, how will this work out? Only four cards could be dropped then."

"Well, I'm guessing," Luvbi said, standing still, "that if that is so...one of us will not be getting a card." They all turned towards her direction in their row of cells.

"What?" Wario sputtered in alarm. "That doesn't make sense! We all need to get out of here!"

"Or may we're not," Yoshi said, his voice frightened. "That's what the video was saying! One of us has to be left behind!"

"Are you sure?" Vivian asked, looking below her fearfully.

"But no one push their button yet!" Goombella said out loud. "We need to think about this."

"Heh, think about what?" Wario ridiculed, turning to her. "It said in that video that our will to survive is being put to the test! No wonder we're in separate cells; we're all supposed to fight for ourselves!" Luvbi's face changed in realization.

"Then...then that means," she started, looking at the red button in front of her. She took a step forwards.

"I just wanna get out of here!" Yoshi cried, and he ran forwards. Vivian and Wario we pulled back heavily from their cords, but Luvbi held her stance, pulling against his force. So did Goombella, who stomped forwards and tried to hold her ground.

"Pull him back!" Goombella shouted to Luvbi. Their spots in their cells stopped Yoshi from going forwards.

"Ow!" said Vivian, as she was pulled backwards even more.

"Let go of me!" Yoshi yelled. "I just wanna get out!"

"Yoshi, calm down!" Goombella shouted. "We can't do anything if you don't stop! We have to work together!"

"No...we...don't!" Wario bellowed, and he jumped forwards with force, causing all four other players to be slammed vigorously against the walls behind them. The only one forwards, Wario took two more heavy steps and reached the red button in front of him with the tip of his glove, pressing it and causing it to fade out in color. Immediately, his belt buckle was released, and a flap from above him opened up, dropping a card into his cell. At the same time, a ticking sound was heard: their timer had begun.

**60, 59, 58...**

"No!" Vivian said with terror, seeing the timer before her begin its countdown.

"I got a key!" Wario shouted out loud. "I'm outta here!" Finally free, Wario picked up the card from the ground and stuck it into the key slot in his door. Within seconds, his door was unlocked, as he went to push forwards out of it.

"Why did you do that?" Goombella shouted. "We needed to think before beginning the timer!"

"You can think all you want," Wario said to her, "but for all I know, I'm out of here! I'm not going to be the one falling.." His door finally open, he ran out of his cell, just as the timer hit forty-five seconds.

**45**

With the color to the button now restored, it was Luvbi who was the only one fully concentrated on escaping, being right next to the door while the others were too far back in their own cells. As soon as she pressed her button her belt was unshackled, and she caught the card that fell from the ceiling.

"You...you planned to escape first!" Yoshi realized.

"I will not be the one left behind," Luvbi said. Hastily, she inserted her card into her door and felt it unlock. As she exited, there were three people still trapped, and only half the time remaining until the floors were to drop.

**30**

All three remaining players fought for their button of escape. Vivian managed to step forwards, but was pulled back by Yoshi's leap, who in turn was countered by Goombella's strong pull. Finally, it was Goombella who pulled forth, using her head to finally push the red button in front of her. The card dropped from above and she quickly inserted it into the slot in front of her. Before pushing her door open, she faced to her right, an apologetic look on her face before finally exiting. There were only fifteen seconds remaining, and one more key.

**15**

"Yoshi! Vivian" Goombella shouted, looking back into her cell. Vivian had taken the first step forwards, managing to pull against Yoshi and go towards the door slowly step by step. In desperation and quick thinking, Yoshi reached for his boot and managed to take it off his right foot, then with little hesiation took a blind aim at the door in front of him. With his throw, he had hit his red button.

"Oomph!" Both players fell forwards, their belts unshackled and free to roam their cells freely. But it was Yoshi who had his key given to him from above, and he hurriedly went to insert it into his door. Vivian got up to her feet with dispair.

"Wait!" she shouted, pushing helplessly against her metal door. "I can't get out! Help me!" She looked to both sides of her, trapped by the metal bars, then forwards again with terror at the door blocking her way.

**5, 4, 3, 2, 1...**

"Gah!" Yoshi yelped, jumping out of his door, joining the other four who had safely made it out of their cells. They all knew the final fate.

**0**

"Help!-" As soon as the timer expired, the floors of each cell immediately disappeared, their flaps dropping as Vivian found herself the only individual dropping to her doom. With a scream that made the remaining four players freeze, the forgotten player hurtled down into the black abyss, and within seconds her scream had already faded. The four players looked behind them to see their open cells, as well as their missing floors, shocked and relieved to know that they themself didn't suffer the same fate.

"Vivian," Goombella said, feeling helpless. Everyone else just stared into their cells, all except for Wario. He had turned around and was already facing the other end of the room that they had ended up in, at something else that gave them all an anxious and detestable feeling: a large, metallic door. Their game wasn't over yet. Above the door, a lone line was displayed:

_You think that being alone will make you ready?_

"Well, what do we do now?" Luvbi wondered.

"Well, what else is there to do?" Wario suggested, pointing his arm at the door before them. "Let's move on. McHallyboo wants us to finish the test."

"You're taking this all quite lightly," Luvbi said, rolling her eyes. Yoshi followed behind her, shuddering from the event which had just taken place moments before. As Goombella finally turned around to follow the others, she carefully felt the object placed into her back pocket, something she felt couldn't be deserted and that could be unitilized at any available point in their game to come, if necessary: her card key.

* * *

**Epiesode 6 begins with a rather unpleasant and tense mission! Just who will be next to go in these series of tests?**

**The concept for this mission had actually been inspired by a certain movie, though just a part of it. If you have a feeling of what the "twist" or ending is, please avoid saying it in any reviews! All is appreciated :D heh.**

**The episode will continue! And the next parts of this multi-layered mission will be unveiled. **


	24. Survival of the Fittest

**5 become 1 even more. Let the games continue ;)**

* * *

**Episode 6 **_**(Part 2)**_

"Where are we?" Yoshi asked, his voice echoing as they walked on. The four players found themselves entering a corridor as they ventured into the metal door, the atmosphere dark and endless and the stench in the air far from pleasant.

"I believe we are in the sewers of Delfino Plaza," Luvbi said, her face showing displeasure.

"If our next game is going to be like the one we just played...geez," Wario told them, being the first in line and leading the others down the hallway.

"What else can we do?" Goombella pointed out. "It's our mission. We have to play this."

"Well, we played it and someone died!" Wario exclaimed, stopping in his place and at the same time turning around to face the others.

"She did not die," Luvbi said with exasperation. "And if anything, it was you who ran first to get your key, starting the timer for all of us. You caused it."

"So?" Wario said. "I was rushed and there was a freakin' timer counting us down! And if I didn't go get the key, then Yoshi would have gotten it first!"

"Yeah right!" Yoshi argued. "I didn't even get my key until the end. You got yours before all of us. Technically, you ran first, and we all saw you."

"Oh, so you're calling me guilty for getting my key first?" Wario snorted. "At least I wasn't the one freaking out in that cell. I wasn't scared cause I knew this is all just another stupid mission." Wario then faced Luvbi.

"And you were planning to press that red button before all of us, weren't you?" Luvbi stopped for a second, a small smile forming on her face which in the dark was imperceptible to the players around her.

"Absurd," she replied.

"Guys, we're not going to get anywhere with bickering and fighting," Goombella stated. "We don't know what's in store for us, so might as well calm ourselves down before we come upon it." Turning in the right direction, the players were lead down yet another corridor, but this time instead of a dark pitch black that finished the path ahead of them, a light could be seen at the end of the passageway that gave them all a slimmer of both hope yet uncertain anxiety. Stepping hurriedly, Wario was the first to reach the end.

"Should we open it?" Wario said, holding his breath.

"Why hesitate?" Luvbi retorted.

"All right, I won't," Wario said, and with his might, pushed the door open.

The players came across a room, five times larger than the one they had initially started in. The first thing the players noticed was a pile of boxes in the middle of the room, stacked in the shape of a pyramid and outlined by a yellow box inscribed into the floor. Immediately to their left and protruding from the same wall they were entering from was a large sewer pipe, great in size and colossal enough to take in a mini-van if it had to. Above it, a blank timer screen was situated.

As the four of them carefully made their way deeper into the mysterious room, they noticed that the remaining walls of the room all held doors, a lock visible on each one. Luvbi made her way to the nearest door, playing with the metal lock and knocking on its metal front.

"Well, the doors are locked," Luvbi noticed. "Maybe these are passages to the next room."

"That's a huge pipe," Yoshi said nervously, looking at it and peering into its darkness. Just like the corridor the players had gone through, the pipe seemed to have no other end to it but an orb of pitch black.

"I wonder what these crates are for," Goombella said curiously, approaching the boxes in the middle of the room. Seeing the yellow line that outlined the pyramid of wooden crates, she stepped away from it cautiously.

"Let's crack one open," Wario suggested as he went up to one of the boxes. "It's not like we'll ruin the game or something.."

"The yellow line is telling us not to interfere with it," Luvbi noticed, turning around. "It's a psychology trick. We're not supposed to touch it...yet." Lubi inspected the line even more.

"Ah, the box holds a static threat," she said with a nod, looking at the small symbol that littered the inside of the yellow line.

"Then what do we do in this room?" Wario inquired. "This room is just more baffling than the first one we were in. Nothing makes any sense!"

"Well, at least there isn't a potential threat located in this one," Goombella observed with relief, looking around the room.

"How about the doors?" Yoshi said, looking at the end of the room. "If they have locks on them, that means there are keys. Right?" Each door held a handle, but also had a lock attached to it that prevented it from being swung open. Above the door at the end of the room the players noticed a screen, sunk into the wall.

"A TV!" The others turned to see a monitor located above the locked door at the room's opposite end, opposite of the gigantic pipe. The four of them made their way to it.

"Okay, turn on!" Wario shouted, waving his hands in attempt to find an sensor. Goombella turned around and saw that the door they had entered the room from was left ajar, still open a slight crack. She looked back at the TV screen.

"I'm sure that closing that door will start the game," Goombella guessed. "It's the only thing here that we're able to change, and it'd probably lead to the TV turning on, which will probably inform us of our rules." All four players faced one another.

"Well, is everyone else ready?" Luvbi asked. Goombella slowly nodded, while noddied as well.

"I don't really have a choice here," Wario said with an irritated voice. "Somebody go close it. Let's play." Goombella walked over to the other end of the room, closing the door decisively. Immediately the lights in the room faded out, and static whooshed into the air, causing all players to look up at the wall in front of them. McHallyboo appeared yet again.

"Hello, and welcome to your next test," he spoke from the screen, as the players listened carefully. "The walls in this room hold three doors. These are your shelters. To access a shelter, a key is required. These three keys can be found within the stack of crates, located in the center of the room. Don't worry: the static barrier for the crates is now disabled. However, work quickly, because the pipe at the other end of this room will be activated as soon as this game begins. It is a vacuum. When the timer for that pipe expires, its power will reach maximum force, and all within this room will be sucked into its abyss." The players stared at the screen with incomprehension.

"The only way to avoid this fate is to enter a shelter. Be in one of the three shelters when the clock hits zero, and you will be safe. Four walls build a home, but which one will you be sucked into? With only three points of safety, which of you will be the odd man out? Make your choice."

As soon as the tape ended, a whirring sound could be heard from behind the players. The four of them all turned around uneasily to see the pipe, now started and producing a sound that startled each one of them to an unhealthy amount. The timer located above the pipe flashed on, telling the players just how much time they had in order to survive: **60 seconds.**

"Oh dear," Luvbi said, her face looking alarmed.

"Hurry!" Goombella shouted, as all four of them headed their way to the boxes in the center of the room. The pipe was now acting like a vacuum, picking up bits of dust located at its entrance. Yoshi put his hands on one of the crates, but then stopped with realization with a strange look.

"Wait," he thought. "There are only three keys hidden in these crates. One for each shelter in the walls. If that's so, then that means-"

"It means it's survival of the fittest!" bellowed Wario, and with his right arm whacked at the pyramid from its midsection, causing boxes to both break and fly amuck. Goombella shrieked, dodging the pieces of wooden splinter that flew into the air. Luvbi grabbed a crate into her hands, and then threw it onto the floor, cracking it open.

"Nothing," she said, then turned to see the remaining twenty-five crates that now littered the room. Yoshi pounced onto one of the boxes, breaking it open and looking at its contents.

"Nothing!" he said, then went to pounce on another.

"This one has glass in it!" Goombella told the others with anxiety, cracking one open to see shards of glass within it. "Stop! We have to play carefully."

"Then play that way and be the one without a shelter!" Wario shouted, "cause I'm getting a key before all of you!" He punched two crates in a row vertically, sending wooden pieces everywhere. The pipe held a timer with forty seconds left, as the four fighting players continued to bash the crates within the room, all in search for one of the three crucial keys that would guarantee safety.

"Oh my goodness," noticed Goombella. As the pipe got slightly stronger and more debris was picked up, the vacuum pulled apart the pile of wooden splinters on the ground and revealed a shimmer of metal. A key was on the ground, and Goombella ran up to it.

"Tenth box!" Wario yelled, breaking into one of the boxes with his fist. As Yoshi stomped onto another crate in attempt to find a key, Luvbi was the only other one who noticed Goombella pick up the key from the ground and run to the door on the right side of the room. As Luvbi began searching the debris on the ground, Goombella attempted to use her key to open the door before her.

"Doesn't fit," she said in panic.

**30 seconds.**

The arena was getting more dangerous. As the timer hit thirty seconds, the pipe reached an even stronger level of force, its suction stronger as broken wood flew into the air and attacked the remaining players. Goombella, closest to the pipe, was pulled back by its force and fell to the ground with a scream. Blinded by the flurry of splinters, Yoshi tripped over one of the crates, falling with a yelp as well.

"Hah!" Wario chuckled, seeing him fall as Wario punched one of the remaining five unopened boxes located in the room. Recovering and getting up quickly, Goombella used her key to quickly open up the lock on the door before her. The lock fell to the ground, and as the shelter opened, Goombella shouted with relief and hurried inside. With ease, she closed the door behind her.

"Yes," Luvbi whispered, breaking a crate open and seeing a key inside. She grabbed it hurriedly and made her way to the end of the room, farthest away from the pipe as possible and also towards one of the doors. She looked behind her, noticing both the predicament as well as the timer on the wall: **20 seconds. **

"I found one!" Yoshi shouted happily, spotting the final key before him and slowly getting up to his feet. As soon as he got his stance back, Wario used his foot to swipe the ground before him, tripping Yoshi yet again and sending him to the floor. The last key fell to the floor, and as the wind got even stronger, Wario ran up to the key and took it into his own possession.

"No!" Yoshi cried, crawling on the floor in his direction and fighting the vacuum of the pipe. "Give that back!" Wario too was struggling to make his way to the last door on the left side of the room, but as he finally did, he turned back to face Yoshi, a grin of satisfaction and triumph on his face.

"Looks like I played this game after all," he shouted to him over the whirring sound of the wind, sticking the key into the lock as the door flung open. "I guess one of us had to be left behind."

"You're right," came a voice from behind him. "One of us does have to be left behind. And it's you." With little hesitation, Luvbi let go of the crate that she was holding in her hands. The strong force of the pipe vacuum caused it to fly towards the other end of the room, and as it did, it hit Wario square in the stomach, knocking him several feet back and closer back to the pipe than Yoshi was. The pipe now even stronger than ever, he was unable to stand up from the ground.

"WHAT was that for!" Wario bellowed with rage. "You cheater! You...teamworker!"

"Strategy," corrected Luvbi. With a final available spot and the last door already unlocked by Wario and wide open, Yoshi crawled towards it slowly, gasping as he fought against the pipe's power.

**10 seconds**

Luvbi looked backwards, seeing the pipe holding just ten seconds left until its final power was to be unleashed. She hurried to her door at the end of the room, closing her eyes from the strong wind as she stepped inside her shelter. Closing the door behind her, she huddled into the small space that provided safety, just as Yoshi made it to his own door and threw himself inside. All three shelters were taken, just as the timer above the pipe hit its limit.

**0**

"No!" Wario hollered. "I was supposed to go on!"

A deafening sound erupted from the pipe's entrance, being at a volume too loud even for the players who were safely behind their doors. But as soon as the sound appeared, Wario's body was flung into the air backwards, just like a piece of debris as he was sucked into the pipe and pulled into its unknown darkness. The three remaining players covered their ears as the immense suction noise continue, feeling as if three eternities passed before the sound finally started to fade out. Within just a few seconds, it disappeared completely. It was Luvbi who was the first to push open her door and exit her shelter.

"Is it...over?" Goombella said, carefully opening her door from her side of the room and coming out of her own shelter. She looked at Luvbi, then at the pipe at the end of the room.

"The storm is over," Luvbi confirmed, as both of them turned to the final door. His door flung open during the storm, Yoshi stumbled out of his own shelter and fell to the floor, gasping. Goombella turned to him in surprise.

"Is Wario...?" Goombella started, but Luvbi just gave her a look that made her understand.

"Well, shall we go on?" Luvbi said. In the center of the room and previously covered by the pyramid of boxes was a square, protruding from the ground. It was a trap door.

"Where did that door come from? Yoshi asked curiously.

"It must have opened when the vacuum's timer ended," Goombella noticed. Also unveiled after the storm was a message in small letters, imprinted on the floor, and as the players stepped up closer to read it, it only confused them even more:

_Well, to do so is a win to deny_

* * *

"Thank you Luvbi," Yoshi said meekly, as the three of them climbed down a metal ladder through the dark. Going towards their next game, the players found a temporary moment available for discussion within their chaotic game.

Luvbi: _I was sure there would be an exemption at the end of this. That's how the games were working out, in my opinion._

"I'm so happy you stopped Wario from getting that last shelter!" Yoshi continued. "I owe you." Luvbi just rolled her eyes, while Goombella listened with curiosity, being at the top of the ladder's length. Suddenly, Luvbi banged against one of the metal rungs of the ladder.

"Ow," she said softly, catching the attention of the two players above and below her.

"Are you okay?" Yoshi asked.

"I'm fine, thank you," Luvbi replied. "But, my arm is twisted in one of these rungs...you can go on, Yoshi. We'll catch up." Yoshi continued his way down the ladder, as Luvbi let out a sigh.

"Now I almost regret saving him," Luvbi said finally, as Goombella faced her with a puzzled look. "But, it was the better choice, I guess."

"What did you do anyway in that room?" Goombella questioned, staring down at her while keeping her voice low. "Did Wario fail on his own?"

"I prevented Wario from going on," Luvbi said simply, "and instead, brought Yoshi with us."

"Why would you do that?" said Goombella, her face looking even more mystified than ever. "What purpose does that hold?" Luvbi looked in the direction below her.

"Because the weaker the player we are playing with," Luvbi said, looking carefully at the player climbing below and nearly at ladder's end, "the easier it'll be to eliminate them." Finally understanding, Goombella faced Luvbi fully, her face showing the tiniest bit of trouble yet agreement.

* * *

"What the fruit...?" Yoshi started, opening the door to their third room as all three players stared into it with confusion. The room was mostly empty, larger than the one they had started in but a significant size smaller than their second. Towards the right end of the room, the players noticed a table with objects upon it, each of them holding no definite shape. In the corner, a television was present. But the thing that confused the players was the existence of an enormous boulder at the end of the room, behind it the outline of their only door to an exit. Luvbi immediately stepped into the room, noticing a poster on the left wall as she went up to it.

**VIVIAN: 103 LBS**

**YOSHI: 118 LBS**

**LUVBI: 102 LBS**

**WARIO: 166 LBS**

**GOOMBELLA: 109 LBS**

"Quite personal, if you ask me," Luvbi commented.

"Why is our weight being displayed?" Yoshi questioned.

"Guys...it probably has to do with this," Goombella said with dismay. The three of them turned to see something they had all surprisingly initially missed: a pit was located directly in the center of the room with a five-foot diameter, reaching down at least thirty feet into the sewer ground. On the wall of its inside was a ladder, letting them all know that climbing down into it would be a necessary action.

"The ladder probably means we have to climb into it," Yoshi said slowly.

"Or fall into it," Luvbi said softly, keeping her eyes on nothing else but the pit.

"Or throw into it," finished Goombella, who was looking at the table located just ten feet away from the pit. Her eyes narrowed when she realized that the table held nothing but a pile of rocks upon it. As Goombella looked closer, she saw that the weight of each rock was engraved on its front.

"Fifty, seventy-five, a hundred..." Goombella counted. "That's…400 pounds in total."

"So, rocks and pounds," Yoshi said, scratching his head. "Now what? There's a freaking pit in the middle of the room and a gigantic rock blocking our way! What are we supposed to do now?"

"We won't know what we have to do! Unless we close the door," Luvbi said, looking at the open door they had entered from.

"But let's figure this out first," Goombella said, both suddenly and quickly. "If we analyze a part of this now, we'll have more time to think later as the timer ticks down. We're probably going to be timed in this game. Just like in our past games, right?" Her question was answered when she saw a blank timer clock at the end of the room, near the ceiling but not directly above the boulder.

"And what is there to think about?" Luvbi said forcefully. "We'll know everything when we hear the rules. By tampering, we could mess something up. Let us begin." Finally giving in, Goombella turned around and walked to the start of the room, giving the room one last quick look as a whole before closing the door. The lights immediately dimmed down, and the three remaining players turned to face the television that flashed on.

"Hello, and welcome to your third game," said McHallyboo from the screen. "Hopefully, this task will make you realize what is truly needed in order to move on. To lift the boulder out of this room, five hundred pounds must be applied to the bottom of the pit before you. Apply five hundred pounds, and you will succeed. The rocks upon the table are for you to use, but they only give so little weight. It'll be up to you to decide just how you will fill in that pit, but keep in mind that once a rock is lifted from the table, a one minute timer will be activated before the lid for the pit closes, sealing all in and out. You have two minutes to figure this out, or the cord that lifts the boulder will snap, ending your chances of escape. What will be going into the pit of sacrifice? Make your choice." As the tape finished, all three players looked at each other slowly. The timer in the room turned on:** 120 seconds.**

"Shoot," Yoshi said, panicking. "Now what?"

"Okay, we need five-hundred pounds for that pit," said Goombella, going to the rocks on the table. "These rocks will help us."

"But they only provide four-hundred," Luvbi said, her voice sounding odd. Goombella hurried over to the poster on the side of the room, looking at their coordinating weights.

"The three of us don't reach five-hundred pounds," Goombella said weakly.

"Wait, can't we just all go inside the pit and carry the rocks in with us?" Yoshi thought. "That'd be well over five-hundred pounds, right?"

"I'm afraid that wouldn't work," Luvbi said, standing straight in her position and looking at him carefully. "Once a rock is lifted, a one minute timer begins until the lid closes. Climbing to the bottom of that pit and getting out before a minute expires would be...quite impossible."

"Well then," Yoshi said, looking strangely back at Luvbi, "What would that mean?"

"It means that whoever goes into that pit won't be coming out," Luvbi said slyly, turning to face Goombella, who in turn faced back at her with an uneasy look. "And after all, any one of us plus all those rocks will add up to five-hundred pounds. It would be just enough."

"Wait," Yoshi said with alarm, as Luvbi took a step towards him. "You're not...you're not going to..."

"Someone has to go," she said, and in one swift movement used her outstretched hands to knock Yoshi off balance. The dinosaur lost his footing on one of his feet and fell backwards, but managed to grab onto the edge of the pit with one hand, preventing him from falling the full thirty feet to the pit's bottom. Goombella stepped back with shock.

"Help!" Yoshi shouted, dangling from the pit's edge helplessly. Luvbi stood over him, letting out a slight chuckle before giving out a heavy sigh. She looked down at him.

"You thought I was doing you a favor, saving you from that other room," Luvbi said nonchalantly, as she rose one of her feet into the air to finally knock Yoshi down to the pit's floor. "But it was all just a plan. The weakest…will be eliminated!"

"No, the strongest will!" Goombella exclaimed, and with her head whammed directly into Luvbi. The startled player lost her balance and fell forwards, but unlike Yoshi failed to grab onto the pit's edge. Plummeting thirty feet down the hole, Luvbi let out a scream before she hit the bottom. To the relief of the two players above, the base was a trampoline, as Luvbi's body bounced slightly before resting fully on the ground, unmoving.

"Here!" Goombella yelled, grabbing onto Yoshi as he struggled to get back up. Finally pulled back to the surface, Yoshi fell to the floor, panting. He looked down into the pit, seeing Luvbi's body absent of motion.

"Is she…all right?" Yoshi asked.

"Yeah," Goombella reassured. "Maybe just unconscious." She turned to face Yoshi.

"Don't ask me why I did that," Goombella said, dusting herself off, "but the only thing I knew was that I couldn't go into the final stage with a person like Luvbi by my side. She would have probably attacked me next, in the final game. I would rather have someone like you."

"True," said Yoshi. "Thanks for saving me."

"No problem," Goombella replied. They both turned to the clock and saw their remaining time for the game: **58 seconds.**

"We gotta move," she said, and the two of them darted behind them to the table full of rocks. Grabbing a twenty-five pound rock each, they lifted it and carried it towards the pit in the middle of the room, holding it above the hole they were about to drop it into.

"Wait!" Goombella said sharply, as Yoshi halted. "Don't let them hit Luvbi. Let's put them in the same spot." Standing next to each other, the two players dropped their stones in as they fell, landing near the side of the pit's bottom and a safe distance away from the unconscious player on the ground. A rumbling immense sound appeared behind the players, and as they turned to look, they saw that the huge boulder at the exit of the room was being lifted up just slightly.

"The boulder's lifting!" Yoshi said, turning to the table of rocks. "How many more do we need?"

"All of them!" said Goombella. "Luvbi's weight is the lightest." While she grabbed another twenty-five pound rock, Yoshi grabbed a fifty pound one, as the two of them made their way to the pit and dropped their rocks in once again. This time, the boulder lifted an increased amount, as the players went to get their third round of stones.

**36 seconds**

"Just two more!" Goombella said, as they faced the final two rocks that remained upon the table: 75 lbs. and 100lbs.

"They're too heavy!" said Yoshi, shaking his head. "We can't get them in on time!"

"Yes we can…lift the table!" Goombella said, but as they both attempted to lift a leg each, they realized that it was interconnected with the sewer's floor.

"It's stuck," Goombella said with dismay. "We don't have much time." On the face of the table was a message, unseen previously due to the fact that it was obscured by rocks. Now revealed, the two of them read it:

_Hopefully these games did nothing but enlighten_

"Get the lighter one," Yoshi ordered, and they both pushed their rocks off the table and onto the ground. As Yoshi attempted to pick his up, Goombella pushed against hers, using all her might to roll it closer and closer to the edge of the pit. She finally reached the center of the room and pushed hers in, landing it on top of the already-made pile of rocks within the pit.

"Help me!" Yoshi cried, attempting to push his own rock. Goombella ran over to his side, and at once, the two of them pushed with all their strength, moving the heaviest rock steadily and rolling it to its goal. At last, the two of them reached the center of the room, and with one final budge plunged the final amount of weight into the hole. An even stronger sound came from behind them, and as Goombella and Yoshi turned around, they saw a sight that made them both feel a sense of relief: their exit was unblocked.

**10 seconds**

"Run!" yelled Goombella, grabbing Yoshi's hand as the two of them made their way to the end of the room. Pushing against the door, it opened easily as they fell forwards with surprise, already entering the next room of their game unintentionally. As soon as they did so, a shattering noise came from behind as the two players covered their ears and ducked to the ground. The cord for the boulder had snapped, smashing the boulder against the ground behind them into large pieces. When they finally turned around to look at what had happened, all they could see was rubble, blocking their only way of going back.

"That was close," Yoshi said, sighing and getting up to his feet. But Goombella was more focused on what lay ahead of her, and as Yoshi turned around too, the two of them got a sickly feeling in the pits of their stomachs.

"This...is our last game" Goombella said, her voice showing dread. Ahead of them was their exit, clearly labeled with the word itself, "Exit," and at the long room's very end. But before the door to their freedom were ten machines, aligned on the left side of the room and going down the length of the hallway, making the room larger than any of the others they had encountered previously in their journey. Hoisted onto pedestals, each machine resembled the shape of a rectangle, except for one extra component: a sharp piece of metal jutted out from each one, pointing in the direction of the opposite wall.

On each machine, a label was present that discombobulated the two of them even more: _ZB June_**.**

* * *

**The mission reaches its final game! What a tense one indeed D: **

**What must our last two survivors do to move on? Who will be victor? And what conclusions will be unveiled at the pinnacle of this mission? **

**The next week I'll be taking my finals (lol wut, I still have school? x.x) But I'm aiming to update at least once before the dreaded week arrives! I missed a picture clue for the beginning of Episode 6 x.x but whala, here it has come! Travel to my profile to check it out. What clue can you see that'll weigh you in on who the Mole is?**

**Stay tuned for the next part of this episode and this mission's conclusion!**


	25. Spontaneous Searching

**The mission concludes! And the episode goes on.**

* * *

**Episode 6 **_**(Part 3)**_

The path before them displaying nothing from the ordinary, the two remaining players could only stare at what was ahead of them. The door at the hallway's end was open a crack, mounting their confusion even more.

"What does ZB June mean?" Yoshi said, reading the label on the first machine's side.

"I don't know," Goombella replied, "but I'm looking at the right wall." Looking closely, they saw that their entire wall on their right was covered in a separate layer of translucent material, resembling plastic that finished and led all the way to the room's end. Protruding from underneath the wall and from underneath the plastic covering were various wires, thin but all leading towards the end of the hallway.

"The wires lead to the end," Goombella said, pointing to a metal box at the end of the room that was located right besides the door. "I'm assuming the wall is part of our game, since they lead wires right towards our exit."

"Then why are the machines here?" Yoshi asked, walking up to the first one. "They almost resemble..." Yoshi stopped suddenly and stepped back, then faced Goombella, who looked back at him with realization. With each machine holding a protruding tip that faced the other side of the room, they suddenly figured out a possibility for the peculiar machines' function.

"They almost resemble guns," Goombella finished, her voice low. "But these machines...I'm pretty sure they're tranquilizers." She looked at Yoshi.

"Wait, I think I got it," Yoshi spoke up. "We have to activate each tranquilizer and make it hit the right wall, thus probably unlocking the door. We activate all ten machines, and we got it!" Yoshi faced her with triumph, but Goombella just shook her head.

"If the tranquilizers are supposed to hit the wall to unlock the door, then why is the door already open?" A shimmer of light protruded from the door's opening, shining bright enough for both players to see.

"I don't think the right wall will help us at all," said Goombella. "It'll probably lock the door instead if a tranquilizer hits it. We have to prevent it from getting hit."

"So in order to do that," Yoshi began, "we have to stop them somehow." The two of them faced each other slowly with dread, realizing what they were fated to do for their final game.

"Wait, nothing's certain yet," Goombella confirmed, shaking her head. "We need our rules for this game. We have to close that door first." Both she and Yoshi turned around to shove their door closed, pushing against the debris of rocks that littered the floor as they finally managed to shut the metal door completely. The television implanted into the wall on their left side flashed on, and the lights in the hallway dimmed until all they could see was the television's image and themselves. McHallyboo began to speak for the final time.

"Hello, and welcome to your final game," said the television. "Hopefully you've discovered the true meaning and purpose of these games, and depending on how you've played so far, this final game could either consist of one of two things: simplicity, or heavy complication." The two players narrowed their eyes at the screen with confusion.

"For this final game, the door at the end of this path has been unlocked," continued the tape. "Make it out of the door, and you will succeed. However, the machines on your left will hinder your process, and will fire immediately when you come into its line of view. The drug in each tranquilizer dart is so strong that you can feel drowsy and become sedated with just three hits." Goombella and Yoshi both froze with terror at the spoken words.

"Be warned though, because if any tranquilizers hit the opposite wall, the exit will be locked forever," finished the video. "And all ten machines must be activated before you make it to the end, or else the door will be closed as well. And if the timer expires for this room, then you will fail. You must take your ten steps to end this game. How will you play? Make your choice."

The screen shut off, and the lights turned back on. The path before them was once again exposed, but at the end of the room, a timer was uncovered to the two of them: **5 minutes**.

"Oh no," Goombella sighed, looking away from the timer.

"I knew it," Yoshi said, looking at the machines before them and frowning. "We have to get hit by the needles. This stinks!"

"I guess we both know what we have to do," Goombella said nervously.

"It's fight to the death, right?" Yoshi realized. "One of us will push the other into the machine's way, and use their body as a shield to take all the tranquilizers on the way down. Isn't that it?" Goombella looked hopeless, staring down at the path's end.

"I…guess so?" she said uncertainly.

"I can't do that," Yoshi admitted, and he sat down on the floor, defeated. "I'm not gonna play evil."

"And neither will I," Goombella said confidently. "I'm not going to play so mercenary and push you right into a needle's path. I guess we can both call this game quits." She sat on the ground as well in front of Yoshi, as the two of them looked at the ground in silence. Goombella suddenly looked up.

"But what did that first part mean?" she said suddenly.

"Which?" Yoshi asked.

"The tape said that this last game could either be of simplicity or complication," she remembered. "Maybe there's an easier way to play this game somehow."

"Did we do anything in this game to make it easier?" Yoshi wondered. "I don't think I did."

"But I did," Goombella said, and she stood up, reaching into her back pants pocket as Yoshi looked at her curiously. At last, she pulled out the object she had retained from the very first room: the card key.

"You kept it?" Yoshi said with incredulity.

"I thought it'd come in handy," Goombella said, helping him up. "Yoshi, stand right next to that machine. I'm going to hold this card out and see if I can get a tranquilizer to hit it instead." Yoshi hurried to the left side of the wall, as Goombella slowly held the card out, inch by inch moving it carefully towards the machine's line of fire.

"Am I in it?" Goombella asked. Yoshi squinted, lining his eye up with the machine's shooter.

"Pretty much," Yoshi said. The machine didn't fire.

"It's probably heat-censored," Goombella said in a voice that seemed to give up in total. She dropped the card onto the ground and stepped back, as Yoshi joined her as well.

"At least we tried," Yoshi said, smiling. Goombella nodded, as the two of them caught something above the door's exit at the end of the path that they didn't see before: the game's final message.

_Because it's five become one, not 5, 4, 3, 2, 1...0._

"Five become...one?" As soon as Goombella read the line, she bent down to pick up the card key from the floor.

"Where have we seen these card keys before?" Goombella asked suddenly.

"Our first game?" Yoshi asked. "Why?"

"No, before that," she said, and then turned to look backwards at the locked door which held all of their previous games.

"Cards...rooms...unnecessary stuff," she said softly. Goombella faced back at Yoshi.

"Yoshi...I don't think we were supposed to eliminate a person in each room," she stated.

"What are you talking about?" Yoshi asked, perplexed. "We had to knock off a person in each game. Wasn't that the whole point?"

"No," she said, staring at the card key in her hand. "We weren't completely separated in the first room. We could have been able to pass things between each other through the bars. If they didn't want us to interact, they could have just used walls instead. We could have passed those cards to each other."

"Wait," said Yoshi slowly. "Are you saying that if Wario just passed his card down to everyone else, we all could have escaped?"

"Vivian would have gotten out," said Goombella, and then continued. "The second room, there was only three shelters. But they were large enough to fit at least two people each. We all could have been protected." Yoshi's face dropped in realization.

"But didn't the tape say, 'Who will be the odd man out?'" he remembered. "That means McHallyboo meant someone to be left out anyway!"

"No, look," Goombella counted. "Two in one shelter, two in another...one would have been left by him or herself." She turned around and looked at the remaining rubble that littered at the foot of their third game's door.

"In the Pit of Sacrifice, we didn't need a sacrifice at all," Goombella said, shaking her head. "Our weight added together was well over five-hundred pounds. All the five of us had to do was climb down and apply the weight to the pit's bottom, unlock the door, and climb out. There wouldn't have been a timer for the pit's lid because we wouldn't have even needed to lift a rock from the table. Those rocks were a red herring." Yoshi scratched his head.

"So wait…we've been playing these games wrong the whole time?" Yoshi said, looking at the metal door behind the two of them in disbelief.

"We were supposed to work together so we all survived the rooms," Goombella concluded, facing him. "That was the game!"

"Why didn't we notice that before?" Yoshi wondered. "It was so simple."

"Because we were greedy players," Goombella told him. "And now...instead of taking two tranquilizers each for this game...we need to take five." The two of them looked once again at the path that lay ahead of them, at all ten machines. Their timer was ticking down: **1:13 minutes.**

"We need to start…now," Goombella confirmed, as Yoshi nodded.

"I'll take the first needle," he said slowly, "and you take the second. And from there…we'll alternate." Goombella nodded.

"Yes," she said softly, and took a breath. Yoshi faced forwards, his face showing fear but eyes showing determination.

"Are you ready?" said Goombella, having the same expression as well.

"Let's go!"

At once, both Yoshi and Goombella players ran up to the first machine, entering into its line of fire completely exposed. Immediately, a tranquilizer needle was fired, and Yoshi let out a cry as the first tranquilizer hit him.

"Oww!" Yoshi shouted, as Goombella pulled him back. Switching positions, it was Goombella who was to be hit next, and the second machine fired. Goombella let out a gasp as her first needle hit her, but the two moved on.

"Third one!" The third machine was activated, and Yoshi was hit again as he let out another cry. Goombella winced as she went into view of the fourth tranquilizer machine, sending the needle to fire as it hit her.

"Halfway there," she said, her voice becoming weak. As they both stepped their ways into the next two machines, it was their third dart each, and already they began to feel drowsy. Yoshi stepped up again, closing his eyes as the fourth needle hit him right in the side of the leg. Opening his eyes, he saw Goombella, getting hit by her fourth needle and slowly losing her focus. He staggered over to her.

"Come on, Goombella!" Yoshi shouted, pulling her up. "We have to make it!"

"I...I can't go on," she said, her voice drained. "You have to go. But I can't."

"Yes, you can!" Yoshi said confidently, and he and Goombella were just feet away from the open exit in front of them. Two machines lay ahead of them, as well as their door to success, as Yoshi took a step in front of the ninth machine. As it hit his arm, he fell to his knees, five tranquilizers having hit him in total as he struggled to keep his consciousness.

**21 seconds**

"I...won't be able to go any more after this one," Goombella said, and with a delayed step, made her way into the final machine's line of fire. But just before it could hit her, Yoshi threw his body forwards, towards the direction of Goombella as the final tranquilizer needle hit him in the back. Goombella gasped as she was pushed back to the ground, while Yoshi fell to the floor, unmoving.

"Yoshi!" Goombella cried, stepping her way slowly to him and kneeling to the ground. Yoshi turned his head.

"Go on," he said with a weak smile, and fell limp. Goombella shook her head with despair, but faced the exit behind her.

With only seconds remaining, Goombella used all her might and remaining energy to bring herself the few remaining feet towards and out of the door, out of the final game, and out of the mission that had caused so much revelation and uncovering.

* * *

"That was...brutal," Luvbi said, using an ice pack to rub her shoulder. "I woke up with rubble in my hair." Next to her was Wario, looking grumpier than he usually was.

"That was pretty much rigged in all places," Wario said, shaking his head. "The second game especially."

"I didn't even know the drop was that high," Vivian said, shuddering slightly. "I hit the trampoline before I could even see it."

"Well, McHallyboo did inform us that each game was meant for all five of us," began Luvbi, but they all stopped as they turned to see someone enter the room. Yoshi made his way towards the couch and sat down, as the others looked at him with both confusion and relief.

"It took you six hours to recover?" Wario ridiculed.

"Of course it did," came another voice, and Goombella entered the room as well. They were in the hotel, but in a sequestered room that was mostly empty. The only person left remaining to enter the room was the host, who did seconds later as he stood in front of all of them.

"Well players, I watched you all perform this exciting mission," he said, and pointed to the TV in the corner of the desolate room they were located in.

"This isn't another one of those game rooms, is it?" Goombella joked.

"Heh, do you want one more?" McHallyboo threatened. He flashed on the television, displaying a TV monitor that was separated into four sections. In each one, an aerial view of each room they had played in was displayed.

"I've explained to you all that these games were meant for a full survival, not to kick each other off in each game," the host started off. "I'll start with the first room." He looked at Vivian.

"In the Cells, Vivian found herself as the first victim," McHallyboo recounted. "The game only offered four cards, but they were all the same. One card could have been passed between the cells to open each door." Everyone besides Goombella and Yoshi looked at each other with disbelief.

"In the Storm Shelters, Wario found himself sucked into the second trap," McHallyboo continued. "But each shelter could have held more than one person. It had just enough room to fit two players each."

"So all that fighting was really unnecessary," Luvbi commented.

"If you remembered this morning, I gave you all indirect hints to the solutions for these two games," McHallyboo revealed. "I gave you a smaller amount of needed cards, and rooms as well. You were able to share then, so I was surprised you didn't succeed in these games."

"Holy snap," Yoshi realized, as the others looked at McHallyboo as well.

"The third game, Luvbi was made into a sacrifice," McHallyboo said. "She and the weighted rocks made you reach five-hundred pounds, opening the door. However, if all five of you were present, all you had to do then was apply your weight as a whole to the pit's bottom, unlock the door, and all escape." McHallyboo then pulled out a single red coin from his pocket, the red shininess sticking out and glowing out to all of them.

"Remember the money on the table from the dinner?" he said to them, reminding them of last night's odd occurrence. "You didn't use any. Instead, you all used what you already had."

"Like us already holding weight in our bodies," Vivian realized. McHallyboo nodded.

"And in the final room, you could have distributed the tranquilizers between the five of you," said the host finally, "to just two tranquilizers each. None of you would have felt the bit of disoriented." He turned off the television.

"Had the five of you worked together, you could have completed this game completely and with ease. Ten thousand coins would have been awarded for each player that made it to the end, minus one, but there was none. You win no money for this mission, and you have failed entirely." The five players looked in appearance from a range of irate to embarrassed. Their complex and most difficult game was over, and none of them had played the right way. Their pot stood still. The host wasn't of any help either.

"So…I'm afraid the breakfast room is closed."

* * *

Yoshi: _We were all focused on being the last survivor. There were clues showing us that we could have worked together but we didn't. Goombella was the only one really who thought about working together the entire time. None of us did._

Wario: _From what I know, Goombella didn't even solve anything until it was too late. I don't see how she gets credit for something like that. And Yoshi even says that she hit a brain rush at the end of the game, I mean, come on! Just at the last second she "realizes" all these certain secrets. Didn't seem plausible to me at all._

Goombella: _It was kind of suspicious how certain people played. Wario took full force in both of the first games, taking control of everything that was happening. If it wasn't for Luvbi's intervention in the second game, Wario might have made it to the very end. His role in the mission almost seemed planned._

Vivian: _The game was difficult. I heard that Luvbi took a big step in the third one. She tried to knock down Yoshi, but Goombella knocked her instead. In the end, Goombella and Yoshi worked together...or did they turn against each other? I wish I wasn't sent down in the first test._

Luvbi: _I'm a bit aggravated on how the third game turned out. Of course, it was impossible for us to have worked together at that point, but it made me think: Why did Goombella take such a striking action? Why did Yoshi sacrifice? How did Wario fail as the strongest? Is Vivian really the weakest? I think that game might have changed me a bit too. I know how far I might just go._

* * *

Their wounds mostly healed, the five players took a rest for the remainder of the afternoon. Each of them were given their own hotel rooms, blocking even more unfavorable memories from the series of games that had just taken place earlier that day. But each player reflected upon that mission in their own way, taking each action that had occurred within the game as a vital clue to just who the Mole might be.

"Oh, I'm just glad you like this meal!" said the boathouse owner, his voice sounding jubilant. They were in the boathouse, located just diagonal from the town's main dock. Just a little less than two weeks ago, the very same building they were in had served as one of their execution spots. A table was set before them however, and they ate carelessly.

"Rosalina took a downfall in this very spot," McHallyboo reminded them, taking an acorn custard dessert from the center of the table.

"I hope your mentioning of that is no way related to a foreshadowing," Luvbi said, a little annoyance yet alarm hinted in her voice.

"Oh, just pointing a little fact out," said McHallyboo as he straightened out his bow.

"Yeah, right," Wario said, talking amidst his bite of a dessert.

"Well, everything you say apparently is important," Goombella said, laughing. "We've known that since like, Day 1."

"Especially after this morning," Yoshi pointed out, causing Wario to groan out loud. "The truth is, we really never learn from the things you say."

"And it's been like, five episodes," Vivian said, feeling less smart than usual.

"Well, you can be the dumbest player here," McHallyboo told them all, looking up to face all of them, "yet still manage to win the game. It just takes...luck."

"And fortune," came the voice of the boathouse owner. As he pulled out a piece of paper, all eyes immediately turned to him.

"What is that?" Vivian asked him.

"It's a map of the stars," he answered, his voice sounding excited. "This particular one shows the location of the first sun sign of Isle Delfino's night sky. It's a beauty, and a rare one. I'm afraid it's not out tonight though."

"That's too bad," Goombella said with disappointment. "I'm not must of an astrologist, but the area of science does interest me."

"So what does having this map have to do with anything now?" Wario questioned.

"Some say that on nights like this where the sea is more still than usual, someone can encounter individual luck under the location of where the constellation should be," said the boatman. "And here...is where it is located." He turned the map around, and the players got a full look at it. Though mostly displaying a scattered arrangement of white dots, the map also had a faded outline of the town of Delfino Plaza, acting as the land beneath it. Yoshi pointed to where the constellation was, located in the sky.

"That's like right behind the lighthouse!" he noticed.

"Your next task involves this spot," McHallyboo said to them. "A bottle is hidden, and this game will be a search for it. But it's your choice on whether you will retrieve it or not. And if so, _who_ retrieves it is the most important part." The boatman sat back in his chair, leaving the map for the crucial bottle out in the open

"All right," Wario said, putting down his fork. "I'm getting it!"

Goombella: _Apparently Wario does not learn from anything. We just learned how important it is to think before acting from our first mission, and now...I couldn't believe it._

"I'm actually going to hesitate," Goombella said, shaking her head completely at the player next to her. "I'm not just going to…run ahead."

"Well, this is probably a chance at something," Luvbi spoke.

Luvbi: _If I was wrong about an exemption being in the first game, then there was no doubt telling that something more important lied within this one._

"So is this like a race?" Yoshi asked. "To whoever finds the bottle first?"

"It's however you choose to play this game," the host, and immediately, Wario got up from his seat and ran for the door.

"What!" Luvbi said, confounded and surprised at his fast action. "Nonsense!"

"I don't even know if I'm going to play," Vivian said as Luvbi immediately got up from her seat as well and exited the boathouse. It wasn't until seconds later the boatman began laughing, as the three remaining players faced him.

"What is it?" Goombella asked.

"They both didn't even bother bringing the map," he said, pointing to the table. Yoshi lightened up.

"You're not going too, are you?" Goombella asked Yoshi, as he grabbed the map into his hand and rolled it up.

"Might as well give it a try," he replied, and with that, only two players remained in the house.

"I learned way too much from the first game to not just do stuff," Goombella said, leaning forwards in her chair. "So I'm not gonna search for this bottle out of the blue."

"I just don't do stuff like that," Vivian said truthfully, and they both chuckled. "I mean, I don't care if the bottle has something good. I would have lost anyway to it."

"Haha!" It was less than five minutes before the room was filled again. Yoshi came back first, panting, the map not even in his hand. Next came Luvbi, who had the map in her hand but nothing else in her possession. The last player to arrive had a victorious face, and they all saw that it was Wario who finally got the bottle.

* * *

_"That's...my map!" Yoshi said, running to pick it up from the sand, but Luvbi got it with one swift hand movement._

_"You think you can find it now?" Luvbi said, turning to Wario with a small smirk. "You're just digging in the ocean and...oh." Wario turned around to face her, previously wading in the waters but now facing her and holding a bottle in the air triumphantly. _

_"I guess I have luck on my side," he told her, his smile greater._

* * *

"Where else could it have been than on the shore floating?" Wario said, jeering. The boatman applauded, feeling happy that his guided game had been completed.

"That was quick," Goombella commented, surprised.

"Open it," Luvbi said reluctantly.

"Did you read the contents yet?" McHallyboo asked him. Within the bottle, a single slip of paper could be seen, concealed by the cork. But Wario pulled it out with ease and slipped out the rolled piece of paper, as his award was revealed to everyone present.

* * *

**Hah! I was considering giving this chapter a non-cliffhangerish ending, but then this perfect opportunity came up and…hehe, sorry.**

**For those who didn't know, the 5 Become 1 games were inspired from the focus plot of Saw 5. I even considered doing an "M" rated version of the mission, but…figured it just wouldn't really work out, haha. But if I had done so, these would have been the changed terrifying elements: **

**-_The first room wouldn't have had the floors open up. At the end of the timer, the metal bar-walls on each player would slam shut with force…with them still between them x.x_**

_**-The second room was going to be called the Propeller room, because the pipe would have had a spinning fan at the entrance, much like a propeller. Or might as well say, a blender. Whoever got sucked into the pipe would..yah D:**_

_**-The third room would have had spikes at the bottom of the pit. That being, if someone was forcefully pushed down, they wouldn't have exactly landed peacefully at the bottom x)**_

_**-The last room didn't have tranquilizer machines. They had...guns o.o**_

**So with that, you can probably see why I had to modify the games a tiny bit xD But nonetheless hope you enjoyed them! That was a little trivia for you all.**

**And s****tay tuned! What does the discovered bottle say, and what game will be played next that'll cause just more heated debate? Stay tuned as we enter the second half of Episode 6.**


	26. A Choice's Reward

**I KNOW! HIATUS! IT WAS A HIATUS!**

**And I wasn't feeling too well...I'm sick... (exaggerated cough) Heh well, I guess I've been a bit busy.**

**_McHallyboo:_ Does that mean that I've been "busy" too?**

**Well, technically…yes x) But here's the next part, yo! Enjoy, readers!**

* * *

_**Previously in Episode 6 of The Mole: Saboteur's Island:**_

_**After finishing a grueling game which tested the players' failure to cooperate as a team, the five players went for a pleasant dinner at Delfino Plaza's boathouse, only to be greeted by a sudden task. Presented with a map, one player had the opportunity to retrieve a bottle hidden somewhere on the island and bring it back to the building. Whoever was to retrieve it would be granted its contents. As Wario returned back to the boathouse victoriously with the bottle in hand, he opened it with little hesitation, revealing to everyone present the award he had received.**_

_**What was in the bottle? **_

* * *

**Episode 6 **_**(Part 4)**_

"Hey...a neutralizer! WHAT!" Wario's voice seemed to expel deadly heat waves. The others seemed stunned at the bottle's contents as well.

"True, but that's not all," McHallyboo said quickly, erasing all conclusions. "Why don't you try reading the full message on the paper."

"Oh," said the relieved player, scratching his head as he came across the remaining words on the bottom of the paper:

_You must distribute:_

_+1_

_-1_

_Complete distribution will grant 10,000 coins to the team_

"Plus one? Minus one?" Vivian said. "What does that mean?"

"I'm guessing they're additions and minuses on our scores for our quizzes," Goombella said, as McHallyboo nodded.

"These values will affect the total score of a player on their next quiz," McHallyboo explained, "Speaking which, if you get five questions on your quiz correct and receive a +1, you would have a total score of six correct questions. Wario, since you were the retriever of the bottle, you get to decide how to distribute these items. If you distribute these two items successfully to other players, 10,000 coins will be awarded to the pot as well. But you get the neutralizer regardless."

"How is that even 'lucky'?" Wario demanded, quoting the boatman's earlier line. The boatman gave him a timid look.

"It's individual luck," McHallyboo corrected, "and plus, you should consider yourself lucky that you are not up for chance to receive a -1." Wario let out a grumpy sound of half-agreement, then looked at the others.

"So I decide who gets a plus one, and who gets a minus one on the quiz?" Wario repeated.

"That is correct." Wario eyed each person at the table carefully, as they all looked back at him. Goombella shifted nervously in her seat.

Goombella: _I was probably going to get it. I showed in this episode alone how much smarter I was than the others, and Wario probably saw that as a threat. I assumed he was going to do something dastardly._

Vivian: _I was just hoping that I wouldn't get any of the items. A +1 is nice, but a -1 would definitely hurt me. I was hoping Wario wouldn't give me the -1._

"I choose to give the +1 to Yoshi and the -1 to Luvbi," said Wario. Yoshi's face lit with excitement, while Luvbi's mouth was agape.

"What? Thank you!" Yoshi said, eagerly grabbing a green-colored card that was tossed to him by McHallyboo. Luvbi's face returned to normal.

"This won't alter my triumph at all," Luvbi said, face remaining unchanged. McHallyboo handed her a light-red card, which she tucked away. Goombella hid her sigh of relief.

"These cards can be very game-altering," McHallyboo warned. "Speaking which, if both Yoshi and Luvbi tie on the next quiz, Yoshi would be boosted with his +1, while Luvbi would fall to elimination." The host turned to Wario.

"Any reason for your choices?" the host questioned him. Wario scratched his chin.

"Well, I hope no one took my decisions personally," Wario said, and he returned immediately back to his food.

Luvbi: _Wario definitely made the wrong choice of giving that card to me. Now he was attempting to jeopardize my chance of existence. Hmph…as if I wasn't already enemies with him._

"'I respect your decision, Wario," Luvbi spoke up, sipping her drink of aqueous martini.

"So now that that's all settled," said McHallyboo, "Who here at this table wants an exemption?" All eyes turned to him simultaneously, their eyes unmoving once they fell upon the host.

"I'm fooling you all. That was all for this…mini-mission," said the host, getting up from the table. "I'll see you all...in the morning." He stood up, and within the passing of a minute, the host himself was gone from the room, leaving the remaining five players by themselves.

"Aww, that's it?" said Yoshi, slumping in his chair.

"What are you complaining about?" Wario said with disbelief. "I gave you a +1!"

"Why?" Luvbi said.

"I felt like I had to," Wario said, eating the dessert before him. "Plus, I chose randomly to give away that exemption. So...consider yourself lucky, Yoshi." Yoshi smiled, chewing his food at the same time.

"Oh, that was just a sting in the posterior," Luvbi added, not bothering to eat her dessert. "Getting a -1."

"He's in a hurry," Goombella noticed, suspicious as always about the host. In this case, she had the right to be.

"Hey, he didn't even stay for my acorn de leches," the boatman said sorrowfully.

"It's really good though," Vivian commented with a smile, taking her second scoop.

* * *

The players woke up normally the next day. Getting out of his bed, Wario stood up with a start, which was rare even for a person like him. Getting a head start before the others, he felt a certain pleasure inside of him. He went to shut off his alarm clock, a half grin on his face.

Wario:_ It was weird when I realized that I was feeling happy in the morning, because NO ONE should be feeling happy in this game, especially with the fact that there was still a saboteur hiding under our noses._

Getting up from his own bed, Yoshi went to brush his teeth. In a good mood from last night's awarding of his plus one, he felt optimistic as he filled his cup with water and unscrewed his toothpaste bottle.

Yoshi: _At this stage, a +1 is like an exemption. My chance to survive this episode is boosted almost double now. Maybe even triple. This was a life saver and I wasn't going to waste it._

Luvbi woke up, not on the same level of happiness as her male peers but otherwise fine. The first thing she did however was turn to the journal on the hotel desk besides her, opening it to her latest set of pages. She looked at her notes, and smiled a little bit.

Luvbi: _A minus one can be insignificant if you look at it from the larger picture. It all depends on who you go for. Up from the start, we've been pointing fingers at different people. A point here and there is worthless. It's intuition that matters in the end._

Vivian tried to get dressed immediately once she woke up. A bit apprehensive and overall unsure about the day she was going to endure, she used her comb to comb her hair, then walked to open her window as she went to head out of her hotel room door.

Vivian: _I'm happy and relieved to know that I've made it to the half-way point. It makes me know that I'm doing something right, and it all depends on who I can trust from now on._

Goombella woke with a yawn, knowing that sending oxygen to her brain would expedite her thinking. She woke up with just one thing on her mind, one question that had been keeping her nervous for most of her mornings since the beginning of their game, two and a half weeks ago:

_Who is the Mole?_

* * *

"Good morning players," McHallyboo greeted them, as they all made their way into the lobby.

"Good morning," they all replied back in unison. Relaxed and becoming comfortable in the chairs provided, they all listened to what their host had to say, be it a small summary of the events that had taken place so far or the initial rules of an upcoming game. But it was neither, and came as a shock to all the genuine players.

"You will all begin taking your quizzes this morning," he announced, as everyone's face dropped with stupefaction and disbelief.

Goombella: _A quiz in the morning? This was definitely new._

"Wait, what?" Goombella said with bewilderment.

"You'll be taking the first half of your quiz this very morning," he explained even further, "containing material from the beginning up to this point. Your scores will be stored, and you will resume the remainder of your quiz at the episode's end."

Wario: _McHallyboo was exhausting all of his twists and coming up with new ones; it was scaring all of us._

"What's the point of splitting up the quizzes?" Yoshi asked, his face filled with opposition.

"I was about to ask the same thing," Luvbi said, looking suspiciously at the host.

"Well, you could say that nothing would change, which could be very true for you," McHallyboo told them, "but opinions are very unpredictable. One extra suspicion can either lead you to the right path, or knock you off. There will be an entire day gap between these two quiz parts. How you choose to answer on them is up to you."

"Are we taking them right now?" Vivian asked. "This all seems weird and odd though."

"Of course," McHallyboo said. "You may go first if you'd like. Follow me."

Vivian followed McHallyboo as she went forth to take the upcoming quiz. Going into the room where they had first taken their quiz for the game's starting episode, Vivian looked back at the players before she disappeared.

* * *

"Are you ready?" said McHallyboo, as Vivian was seated before a laptop. Oddly enough, it was a different one from the ones they had been using previously to score their quizzes. Never the less, she nodded.

"Good luck." As McHallyboo left, Vivian went to take the first question.

_**1. The Mole is:**_

_**-Male**_

_**-Female**_

Vivian: _I was confused on why we were answering a quiz anyway in the morning, but what made it even more unusual was that we were taking only half of it._

Wario went next to take his quiz, his mouth dropping as he went to select his answer for the next question.

_**2. If the Mole were on a ship, what would the captain's name be?**_

_**- Gioliamar Row**_

_**-Stella-Frank Mooberg**_

_**-Doni I. Shoy**_

_**-Vulimi Nibbs**_

_**-Nadia Svhensiv **_

Wario: _This quiz was bologna! From the second question, I knew something was up._

_**3. What would the Mole's ship be named?**_

_**-S.S. Music**_

_**-S.S. Dollar**_

_**-S.S. Diamond**_

_**-S.S. Painter **_

_**-S.S. Cocktail**_

Yoshi:_ I just went with the coolest-sounding ship name._

_**4. Is the Mole taller than five feet?**_

_**-Yes**_

_**-No**_

_**-Varies**_

Goombella: _I had no idea what I was doing, nor what to answer._

And finally:

_**5. Who is the Mole?**_

_**-Goombella**_

_**-Yoshi**_

_**-Vivian**_

_**-Wario**_

_**-Luvbi**_

Luvbi: _What a mock quiz._

* * *

"Well, how were your quizzes?" McHallyboo asked them, trying to hide a smile as they all entered back into the lobby with disarrayed faces.

"Pleasant!" Goombella said, her voice full of sarcasm.

"Even I failed the quiz," Yoshi said, scratching his head. McHallyboo chuckled.

"I'm pretty sure you gave us a wrong copy of the upcoming quiz," Wario said with a chortle.

"Were those quizzes real at all?" Vivian asked.

"I'm sad to say that those weren't your official quizzes at all," said McHallyboo, as his sentence was followed by a huge wave of sighs. "But they were important. Those results will decide your upcoming mission. The person who got the most votes in total will be playing for more than just an exemption." All the players looked at McHallyboo with interest, but also apprehensively.

"If you looked at the second question carefully, you would have noticed that each fictional name was an anagram for a player here," McHallyboo pointed out to them. "And the third question all had ship names related to your occupations."

"I rushed through it so fast, I didn't pay attention to any anagrams," Goombella said honestly.

"Do you have the results?" Vivian asked.

"I'll deliver them later tonight," he said, as the players could only wait for the remainder of the day to play out.

* * *

The night was colder than usual. All the players had their light jackets on, and even McHallyboo wasn't wearing his usual dark-blue coat but instead a stylish sweater as they followed him to the plaza's west Beach, where the lighthouse was located. As they made their way to the next location of their mission, they found themselves heading to the location where last night's bottle was located. But instead, another larger object was seen floating right on the shore of the beach, and the players could only guess what actions their next mission required.

"A row boat," Luvbi said, not sounding pleased.

"This game will be called Cash It or Sink It," McHallyboo explained. "This next game will require strategy and self-containment. Look over there. On that island lies 20,000 coins." He pointed to the island just off of Delfino Plaza's shore; secluded, it held a single palm tree, four bags with distinct lumps in them, and a green structure, protruding mysteriously out of the island's sandy ground. Besides the pipe, the players saw something tiny and metallic, small but being powerful enough to emit a gleam towards their direction. The players turned back to the floating row boat.

"The only way to retrieve the money is via the row boat," McHallyboo told them. "The row boat has only a one-person capacitance, and each player can only row once. Bring one of the four bags of five-thousand coins to shore, and it will be added to the team pot."

"And the twist it..." Wario began.

"The island won't be empty, of course," McHallyboo said. "One player will be left alone on the island, but to their advantage. The quizzes you took this morning decided just who that player will be. And in this case, the player who got the most answers towards their names was..." The players stood still anxiously at McHallyboo's pause.

"Goombella!" The single player looked stunned at first, but then relaxed, though instead of a smile on her face, there was a look of even heavier confusion.

"You will be the one left alone on the island, and you have options," said the host. "If a player comes to retrieve a bag, you can cash it in instead by putting it into the green pipe besides you. That money would then become yours to keep." Goombella's eyes widened.

"To keep personally?" she said, her voice shocked.

"What!" Wario said. "That's better than anything else before in this game!"

Luvbi: _The idea of stealing money from the team pot into your own personal pot was definitely a cynical and new o_ne.

"However, every time you deposit money into your own hands, a cork on the bottom of this row boat," said McHallyboo putting his hand on the boat's edge, "will be unplugged. The boat will begin to sink." The four boat players peered into the boat with apprehension, seeing four white circles at its base.

"But there's a double whammy, because if that boat sinks, not only will the game be over, but Goombella, you will not win an exemption," he finished, looking at Goombella.

"So if the boat stays afloat, I win the exemption?" Goombella confirmed. McHallyboo nodded.

"This game requires strategy, and it will be up to the players on each side to decide what to do. This game will have a twenty-minute time limit. Good luck to you all. Goombella, follow me to be transported to the island." Before the others could say an extra word to her, Goombella followed McHallyboo towards the beach's other end, entering a more modernistic boat as she was brought to the island over a hundred feet away. The four remaining players turned to face their disabled vehicle.

Vivian: _There would be a lot of things at stake during this mission, so I was scared of how it was all going to turn out and what some of us would do._

"We can't let her have that exemption," Luvbi said with a loud voice. "It's the final five. We need to make the boat sink."

"For every bag she deposits into her own bank account, a plug will be unplugged," Yoshi said. "But...how are we going to convince her to take the money?"

"She's bound to be greedy," Luvbi said flatly.

"Yeah, but she's the smartest player here," Wario said, as he went to pick up the paddle in front of him. "She's not just going to get all four bags into her possession and sink the boat." He turned to look at the island that Goombella was heading towards at that exact second.

"That would be suicide."

* * *

"Time is about to start!" came the loud voice of McHallyboo from a motor boat that didn't cross their game's line of travel. Rather, it was located afar and off the path in the middle of the ocean, where the host could get a clear view of the game. "Twenty minutes is the time limit for this game!"

"That's approximately five minutes for each bag," Vivian said softly. She turned to the boat.

"Who rows first?" she wondered. McHallyboo looked at his clock.

"Time starts…now!" the host declared, his voice rippling to both shores.

"I'm going last," Wario declared. "The strongest need to stay last."

"Then who starts?" Yoshi said. "Time began!"

"Umm, umm," Vivian started. "I'll go third then."

"Let me go," said Luvbi. "I got words set for Goombella. I'm going to try to make her sink this boat." She went to pick up the paddle, but then faced Yoshi and handed it to him.

"No, here, you take it," Luvbi said, as Yoshi grabbed it curiously.

"Why me?" he asked her.

"Because you can try to persuade her, and after that, I'll really kick in and try to make her take the money," Luvbi reasoned. "Just…row fast." Yoshi nodded and got into the boat as hastily as he could and before seconds had passed, he was in the middle of water, paddling towards his destination.

Yoshi: _I really had to persuade Goombella in taking the money. All I had to do was talk to her and tell her how awesome 20,000 coins would be to have._

"Wow, he's fast," noticed Luvbi, looking into the distance as Yoshi's boat slowly approached the island Goombella was on.

"How fast was that?" wondered Vivian. "If we all row just as fast, we can have a lot more time to persuade."

"It can take all the minutes in the world to persuade someone like Goombella," Wario said truthfully. "I'm not too sure this'll be something easy for us."

* * *

"Hey there!" said Yoshi, getting off his row boat and stepping upon the island's ground to greet Goombella. To Goombella's side were four large bags, containing a significant value of coins within them each. Whether the money would be going to the team pot or Goombella's personal account was to be decided by none other than Goombella herself.

Goombella: _It was definitely tempting to not touch those bags of money. I had the option to cash in 20,000 coins for myself in like...two seconds. The decision was definitely killing me, but I told myself something else that was more important: losing an exemption would definitely kill me the most. _

"Man, those bags must be heavy," Yoshi said, eyeing them and giving out a stretch. "I'd hate to carry one of those in my boat."

"Then I guess it'd just stay on the island and rot away," Goombella said with a smile. Yoshi face changed from nonchalant to serious.

"Or you can just cash it in for yourself," he suggested.

"You and I both know that it'll make a hole in the boat and cause it to sink," she stated, not budging from her spot. "And if the row boat sinks, I lose my exemption."

"Why not just cash it?" Yoshi said, sounding more insistent.

"Why not take a bag and head it back to Delfino Plaza to cash it in for the team pot?" Goombella reasoned. "I know you're trying to get me to cash my own money in so the boat would sink, but it's not going to work. I know what I'm doing, Yoshi." Yoshi looked at the money bags on the ground before him.

"All right," he said defeated, as he went over to grab a money bag from the pile. Looking at Goombella one last time, he headed towards the island's shore and back into his row boat, bag of money in hand.

Goombella: _I didn't want to sound mean to Yoshi, but I had to hold my stance and make him believe that I couldn't be persuaded. My plan was to just deflect each player off and just let them take the cash, instead of me._

* * *

"Mission incomplete," Yoshi said glumly, approaching back to Delfino Plaza's shore and into the presence of the other three.

"What!" said Wario, having as much a disappointed face as the other two.

"She's hard to persuade," Yoshi said, holding up the bag of five-thousand coins. "She even knew that my goal was to get her to unplug the plugs on the bottom of the boat by taking in money of her own. In other words, she's tough. Smart, but tough."

Yoshi: _Ever since the 5 Become 1 game, I've been scared of Goombella. She's obviously the smartest here, and will knock everyone else out without mercy._

**Money Cashed:**

_**Team Pot: 5,000 coins**_

_**Goombella's Pot: 0 coins**_

"Then who wants to go next?" Wario said, feeling discouraged. "Luvbi? Vivian?" He turned to Vivian, who had her eye on the island in the distance. But she wasn't looking at Goombella, nor at the bags of money on the ground or the green pipe that protruded out from below the sand. Without taking off her stare, she nodded her head.

"I'll go," she said, looking back at them. Yoshi handed the paddle to her carefully, and nodded with luck as she stepped into the row boat.

"Make sure you row with the paddle face perpendicular to the boat!" he shouted.

"Do anything you can to persuade her to take money," Luvbi said urgently. Getting a good start, Vivian began her steady row towards the island of money.

Vivian reached the island's shore within two minutes, and walked over to the array of bags besides Goombella.

* * *

"Hi," Vivian said carefully, looking at the exemption-holding player. "I'm not sure what I'm supposed to do."

"It's your choice," Goombella said, not budging from her spot. "If you take a bag back to the town, the team pot gets 5,000 more coins. I think it'll benefit us all if you did that."

"I'm not so sure about that," Vivian thought, stepping her way around the bags of coins, almost as if examining the pile. Goombella shifted to her right, an action that Vivian noticed right away with a gasp.

"What is it?" Goombella couldn't help saying, seeing the odd look on her face.

"I'm just...contemplating what to do," Vivian said quickly, ending her pace and standing where she originally was in front of the money pile.

"Time is wasting," Goombella pointed here. "It'll be better to take the money home than leave it here to waste."

"I guess you're right," Vivian said with an exaggerated sigh. With both hands, she picked one of the money bags off from the ground and carried it to the row boat. Within seconds, she was already rowing her way back to the land of the plaza.

* * *

"I...couldn't get her to take any money," Vivian said, slightly tired from her rowing journey as she stepped back onto the beach's sand with the money in her hand.

"What? No money again?" Wario exclaimed, motioning for her to give him the paddle. "We're obviously not doing the right thing. Words aren't working for her."

"Then what will?" Luvbi questioned. "What'll work for Goombella?"

"Physical force, I'm guessing" Wario replied. "What else can we do?"

"Physical force?" repeated Yoshi. "What! What are you going to do? Knock her to the ground and demand her to deposit money?"

"Yes, absurd," agreed Luvbi.

"The two of you used words and it didn't work," Wario reasoned. "We all saw that. Words aren't gonna work for her."

"Are you going to hurt her?" Yoshi asked.

"Hey, I'm not going to like, put a knife up to her neck and something and force her to throw money into the pipe..." He stopped at the shocked faces of the other three players. Without a word, he quickly moved his way to the row boat, paddling away as quickly as his strength allowed him to.

"Well...I hope he succeeds," Yoshi said, eyes still wide.

"But she's hiding something," Vivian blurted. The other two looked at her curiously, and as Vivian explained her theory to them, both Luvbi and Yoshi turned their eyes to the island, seeing Wario make his way slowly towards its shore.

"If that's so," Luvbi said slowly, "then maybe Wario's strategy of physical force isn't so absurd after all."

* * *

**WUT?**

**So yesss. I've been a bit side-tracked with other stuff of the time recent (eww, real life stuff ): but no fret at all. This story is always and constantly on my mind, and everything seems so fresh, even after this near-five month hiatus! On the good side, all my college application stuff are zip and done! Gee, I'm surprised I didn't procrastinate on all dat scary stuff o.o **

**Because of the delay and such, do feel free to read this episode yet again and refresh yourself on this story! Hopefully all thoughts and suspects are intact, and if not, the Mole has evaded you. Hehe =D**

**But with all that, the game narrows down! Soon there will only be four, because an execution awaits the players in the next (and hopefully soon) installment! But who will survive? Who will it be?**

**Only five remain: _Goombella, Wario, Luvbi, Yoshi, and Vivian. _****The following below is your 6****th**** Final Destination clue:**

**H 0 **

**T 0 **

**M B 3 **

**R W 4**

**Thanks to everyone, and stay tuned for the next elimination!**


	27. Final Five: Poll

**A shout-out to something I missed to mention at the end of last chapter: in my profile, a new poll awaits! If you didn't vote yet, do give it a go:**

_The Fatal Five: Who do you think the Mole is?_

**And of course, you have your five choices! Which one of those people is the saboteur of this paradise? You can only vote once, so put your top pick into there. I figured I had to do a poll before the players whittled down x] so take your pick!**

**The next update should come soon too ^.^ And along with that, the sixth execution of the game. Who will fall victim? And who is the Mole?**

**Stay tuned and good luck! The Mole is about to strike yet again.**


	28. The Boat Holds Four

**The final part of Episode 6! Games finish, and people finish as well. ****Enjoy the final moments and what the end of this episode has in store!**

* * *

**Episode 6 **_**(Final Part)**_

Within a minute and a half, Wario had been the fastest person so far to reach the island of money. He staggered, hiding his tiredness as he stepped towards Goombella and the bags of money. He had made it to the island.

"So, since I'm the third person here," Wario said to her, getting his balance, "what do you think I'm going to do?" Goombella seemed to step back cautiously.

"It's up to you," she replied. "What _are_ you gonna do?"

"We both know that five thousand coins is a lot of money," Wario said to her, pointing to the remaining two bags. "Look at those two bags before you! It's practically free money! No one would turn free money down." He pointed to her.

"Except for you," he finished. "Or, will you turn down the money?"

"Well…no one would turn down an exemption either," Goombella pointed out. Wario frowned heavily.

"Okay, well..." he began, shrugging.

* * *

"I...don't see what's happening," Vivian said, peering into the distance. She looked closer at the island that held the contents of their game.

"It looks like he's trying to negotiate with her," Yoshi said, baffled. "Didn't he say-"

"Well, it looks like he's not even going to do anything physical," Luvbi scoffed. "Physical force. I predicted he could not do it." The three of them continued to stare at their teammate's actions in the distance.

"Wario, no matter how much you talk, I'm not going to do anything," Goombella spoke, almost as if she was finished conversing with him.

Wario: _I needed to do something quick and fast. I couldn't think of anything else to do, but I had one thing in mind._

"Are you sure about that?" Wario said, his last words approaching as well.

"Just grab your money and go back," Goombella concluded. Wario looked at the remaining two bags of money on the sand, but instead of picking one up, he turned around and began his way towards the boat, moving away from a baffled Goombella who just stared after him with a puzzled look.

* * *

"What! Why?" Yoshi shouted, eyes shocked at seeing Wario approach Isle Delfino's shore with a bag-less boat. He had brought no money back.

"Guys, before you say anything, let me explain why I left the bag there," said Wario, getting off from the row boat.

"That would be reasonable," said a confused and wide-mouthed Luvbi.

"She's bound to take that bag now," Wario explained to them. "With two bags there and one trip remaining, she knows that 5,000 coins will stay regardless."

"But what does that do?" Vivian asked.

"She's going to cash it in and make the boat sink for us," he explained.

Luvbi: _Wario's strategy made no sense. He was saying that Goombella was going to cash in that extra money, even though she had already refused three bags beforehand. No way was she going to just cash that money randomly for herself._

Wario: _A 5,000 coin loss, or a player winning an exemption? The answer was obviously clear to me. I had to make that choice because there was nothing else to do that would make Goombella change her mind at all, so I left a bag there to tempt her._

"Maybe it's not so bad," Vivian said. "If Goombella cashes that extra money, the boat will proceed to sink."

"But what if she doesn't even do that?" Luvbi pointed out. "Our money is on that island." Wario seemed to kick at the sand, a troubled look on his face.

Yoshi: _I don't think Wario was thinking clearly at that moment. He was obviously stressed out and tired, like the rest of us. We all were from rowing that boat._

**Money Cashed:**

_**Team Pot: 10,000 coins**_

_**Goombella's Pot: 0 coins**_

"Quick, time is running out," Vivian said to Luvbi, just as McHallyboo's loudspeaker emitted for the first time.

"SEVEN MINUTES FOR THE FINAL TRIP!" his voice hollered. Luvbi quickly hurried to the row boat, and beginning slowly, she left the three others as she paddled away. All three layers behind her were crossing their fingers, as the row boat began its final leg of the journey to the island of cash. On it, a player was waiting nervously, at a level of tenseness more than ever before.

* * *

Luvbi reached the island, stepping onto its sand carefully as she made sure not to get any sand in her shoes. Stepping forwards, she was already face to face with Goombella as the two of them looked at each other.

"You're the last one here," Goombella said to her. "You can try to persuade me, but the others have already talked to me before and failed."

"No, I suppose I don't have to do that," Luvbi said, her face remaining calm. She reached down to pick up one of the remaining bags of money, then held it in both her hands and examined it.

"A thought had collided into me: what rules would be broken if I were to deposit this bag of money directly into the pipe from my hands?" Luvbi asked her. "Would it unplug the boat? Add money to your pot?"

"I..." Goombella said, alarmed and taking the tiniest step forwards. "I bet it would be against the rules. You don't want to do that. It'll mess up the whole game and everything might be over."

"Who said it would be?" Luvbi considered. She began walking to the pipe, much to Goombella's reaction. As soon as Goombella left her spot in a rapid run to block the pipe, Luvbi's direction darted in the opposite direction. Her eye on the foreign object that shined in the moonlight, she went and leaped for it, landing on the ground and wrapping her hands around it.

"No...the sauce pan!" Goombella said, turning her direction as well. But Luvbi got up to her feet and used all her strength to run as quickly as she could away from Goombella, before she could start a run of her own. Jumping into the slightly drifting boat, Luvbi paddled away with two crucial objects in her boat. As she was already feet away from shore, Goombella stood at the island's edge, flabbergasted and panicked.

* * *

"She has something in her hands" shouted Yoshi, walking as close as he could to the water's edge. The row boat was already halfway back to Delfino Plaza's shore, and as it drifted naturally, Luvbi had the metal object in her hands, furiously using the volume-sized kitchen utensil to pick up water from her side. Once she got a full container of ocean water, she dumped it into her boat.

Vivian: _While Wario was on his trip, I told Luvbi to get whatever Goombella was hiding. And I knew it: we could use the sauce pan to fill the boat with our own water and sink it ourselves._

Luvbi: _I had two missions: to get the money to the shore, and sink the boat at the same time. And I only had three minutes to do it all._

"What's she doing?" Vivian wondered. "Is she..."

"Wait, she's sinking the boat!" Wario exclaimed. The flooring of Luvbi's boat was filled with water, and all players could see that the row boat was sinking into the line of the ocean just the tiniest bit.

"So we didn't have to use unplug the plugs at the bottom of the boat to sink it," Vivian realized to herself.

"I need you to...!" Luvbi was close enough to the shore for her voice to be audible.

"What was that?" Vivian shouted back.

"I can't hear her!" Wario called out. Luvbi was waving her money bag in the air.

"I think she wants the money to reach shore, but for her to sink the boat at the same time," Yoshi guessed. "That's how we win the game!"

"How can she give us the money AND sink the boat?" Wario questioned. "That's not possible."

"It is!" said Yoshi, and before the others could react, he ran right towards the direction of the water of the ocean, leaving the other two to simply watch the scene that was to fold out for the end of their game.

"One minute!" bellowed the loud voice of McHallyboo. Luvbi's boat was at the level of an optimist's cup: half of it was already submerged in the water due to the water she had gathered within the boat, and as she spotted Yoshi swimming towards her, she waved her hands in the air with surprise.

"Yoshi, stay there!" she shouted. "I'll try to throw the money to you." She lifted the bag up.

"Ready?"

"Yah!" he shouted.

"Go!" The bag flew in the air, tightly closed and landing right before Yoshi in the water. He grabbed onto it like a floating device, then as fast as he could, he paddled his way quickly back to shore. Luvbi turned her attention back to the boat she was in, using the large sauce pan to its purpose as she began filling her row boat even more. Her boat was losing its buoyancy.

"Yoshi!" Vivian cried, getting him up from the sand of the beach along with the money bag. Wario made sure to grab the money bag, and threw it in with the pile they had already achieved. Three bags marked their retrieval.

As all players looked out at the boat at sea, they saw that it was already filled to the rim with water. The complete inside of Luvbi's boat was filled with ocean water, and was sinking at a heavier rate.

As Goombella saw all of this happening, she reached down to grab the lone money bag left on her island. With a face that held a sorry look, she dropped the bag into the green pipe besides her as it emitted an odd sound. As seconds passed, the row boat between both pieces of land sank underneath the blue water of Isle Delfino, leaving a clear view of the ocean and causing the three players at shore to applaud and call out victoriously.

**Money Cashed:**

_**Team Pot: 15,000 coins**_

_**Goombella's Pot: 5,000 coins**_

* * *

"So, our game concluded," McHallyboo said to them. "Quite a sight, really. You guys really did put a show for this mission. Some of you even sacrificed your dryness during the final leg of the game, all for good purpose." Both Luvbi and Yoshi had towels for that respective reason, while Goombella stood right besides McHallyboo.

"The sauce pan on Goombella's island would have helped you sink the row boat on its own," McHallyboo pointed out to them. "Luckily, you group of four had realized that just in time, thanks to Vivian's keen eye." Luvbi gave a nod of triumph towards Vivian, who just smiled.

"I knew too that the sauce pan could have been used like that," Goombella said, almost smiling. "So kudos to you guys! You really got me."

"I'm sorry though," Vivian said, having an apologetic look on her face.

"You managed to get two bags to shore, plus the one salvaged at sea, so that adds 15,000 coins to the team pot!" Everyone applauded, even Goombella.

"On the third leg though, Wario, you decided to leave the third bag of money on the island," McHallyboo pointed out. Wario's eyes only seemed to glare at him.

"Was there any motive for that action?" the host asked him.

"We really had no plan in particular," Wario replied, facing his teammates from the game. "I thought she would take it in, which she did at the end. But that didn't serve a purpose."

"Yoshi, any motive for jumping into the water and swimming for the bag?"

"Reflexes?" Yoshi said to the host, tilting his head. Everyone else laughed.

"Fortunately, it saved the money, but unfortunately for Wario, your action didn't quite work during the course of the game," the host said, "but the money did go somewhere after all in the end. Goombella, care to elaborate?"

"Well," Goombella began, looking at the other players with a nervous look. "I pretty much cashed the remaining money in at the last second. The boat was about to sink, and I just decided to take it. It was going to go to waste anyway."

"I would have done the same thing," said Vivian, as everyone else nodded also.

"Keep it!" Yoshi said, face happy. "You deserve it for doing this mission anyway."

Goombella: _To take five thousand coins into my personal possession seemed so unethical. But they were encouraging me to take it, so I guess I'll consider this money a gift from all of them. It was really awesome._

"This brings your final winnings to a grand pot total," McHallyboo said, voice in conclusion.

**Team Pot**

_174,000 coins_

"We're halfway into the game, and you've earned just a little bit more than half of the possible money value," the host told them. "We have just two more episodes left to play, and with more money comes more difficulty. Things are just going to get harder."

The players all nodded simultaneously. But one of them nodding for no reason at all, for the very simple fact that fatality would strike him or her on the next night of the game. Before the last two episodes could play out, an execution was in store for one of them.

* * *

Vivian: _The nights before an execution day are the worst, because when you wake up, you know that someone would be leaving, and that it could be you._

Goombella:_ It all went so fast and slow at the same time. I'm making decision changes left and right. And now, the game is already halfway done. _

Yoshi:_ I'm relying on my plus one to save me onto the next episode, but now I've been scared. If someone scores a zero on a quiz, what does a plus one do then? _

Wario: _One of us will be going home. It definitely can't be me. I'm not the kind of person to give up on a game that I've got so far into, especially a one like this._

Luvbi: _To say that I am not apprehensive with my possession of a minus one would be a lie too obvious. Of course I'm a bit terrified. We all are. Even the Mole is, making sure nobody suspects them._

* * *

The players did not greet McHallyboo in a hotel lobby, much like the typical scenes of their mornings. Instead of sleeping in their usual rooms the previous night, the players were given shelter in the buildings which faced out to the ocean, the water which held the island involved in their previous game along with an endless horizon. The water also held a lifebuoy, floating and holding a visible message for them all.

_"We're all like the fingers of a sodeoka samurai's hand,"_ Vivian read, reading the outside message that circled the floater's ring. _"At any second, one can be lost and_...eww." She gave it to Yoshi to finish reading.

"_...and into the sun's wind we disappear,_" finished Yoshi. He turned the ring over to look for any more potential hidden messages, but there were none.

"Into the sun's wind?" he said. Vivian stared at it, blank in thought.

Having just walked out from their own temporary hotels, Goombella and Wario went to the beach as well to join them. A picnic blanket was laid out, and the players ate their breakfast, intrigued and enjoying the warm air as well.

"There are messages anywhere but we have no idea what they mean," Goombella said, shaking her head. "The Mole likes our confusion."

"He's probably just a big pain in the butt," Wario said, taking a bacon bagel from the picnic pile. "A big, sadistic pain in the butt. Is it just me, or does the Mole enjoy all the confusion we display?"

"Okay, well, I like the Mole," Luvbi said, a smile appearing on her face. "He or she is just really playing it cool. Playing it well and just enjoying the weather as the rest of us scurry."

"Scurry for survival," Yoshi said, getting a plate and putting some fruits on it for consumption.

"And worry whether or not we'll pass the quiz," Vivian said with a nervous voice.

"Well, let's just say this," Goombella spoke up. "This is a nice breakfast. Whoever's leaving tonight began the day good."

Vivian: _I always begin the morning of executions waking up with a pit in my stomach. It's been terrible, and throughout the day it becomes impossible to get rid of._

"I didn't really begin this day feeling all right," Goombella said truthfully, picking at the porridge in her plate, "but let's all wish each other good luck tonight."

"Here, here!" said Yoshi, raising a piece of cantaloupe into the air.

"Yah, it's kinda obvious that none of us felt good this morning," Wario huffed. "We're all worried about the quiz."

"I must say them, I feel _excellent_ with this minus one," Luvbi spoke up, emphasizing her pronouncing of the word 'excellent'.

Luvbi: _What will a minus one do? Will it end my game? If I survive, then I'll know that I'm just on the right track. It might even help me, this little gamble._

"In soon time, we're going to break down and deteriorate mentally," Luvbi said bluntly.

"Come on," Goombella said to all of them in particular. "We made it half way. We're winners already!"

"I'd like to be the sole victor though," Luvbi replied.

"Me too," Wario said, his eyes showing realization. Vivian just looked down to the sound, while Yoshi looked up from his plate.

"Wouldn't we all?" Goombella said with a sigh, sitting down to continue finishing her own breakfast. McHallyboo approached them, having finished his own separate work as a host and sitting down with the players to converse in tranquility.

"Players, it's down to you final five," he said grandly. "Take the next few hours as preparation for leaving this place and collecting thoughts."

"I intend to," Luvbi said, in a non-harsh manner.

"I'm sure you're all enjoying this breakfast, because for one of you, you won't be having such an extravagant breakfast like this in a long time," he said, chuckling slightly. "Are you all going to miss this game when it's gone?" The five of them look at each other, and each of their eyes seemed to hold a unanimous answer: Yes.

"I will," said Vivian softly. "I think I'll definitely miss it."

"I will too," said Goombella. "I've never had an experience like this ever in my life. It's been so exciting."

"It's fun, cause the game keeps on changing," said Yoshi. "People leave and go. But yeah, in the end, I will miss this game." The three of them turned to both Luvbi and Wario.

"Well, one would be lying if they said they wouldn't miss it," Luvbi said, getting a water bottle from the picnic basket. Wario folded his arms.

"All right, this game has been annoying, but," Wario began, as everyone else smiled, "I like it a lot. In fact, I may in fact love it. And yes, I used the word 'love'."

Goombella: _Wario used the word 'love'? It was incredible. It really made me realize how much we'll all miss everything that was happening._

"How about you, McHallyboo?" Luvbi questioned, facing him. "Will you miss this game when it's over?" The host turned them, silent at first.

"Of course," he said. "I'd have to find a new job to get my income from." The players reacted in a mixture of rolled eyes and laughs.

* * *

As the day began entering its second half of hours, McHallyboo had the players gather back at the beach. They had spent the day roaming, talking to whoever they wanted to and whoever they wished to speak to. But with the day almost ending, they all returned back to where they had begun, as confused as they first were.

Goombella: _I spent most of my day reviewing my journal. It contains everything I need and will need. I predict that this quiz will be the most difficult of all for everybody._

Vivian: _Most of my time, I talked with Luvbi, just because I trust her. I hope she trusts me also, and I think she does. I need to keep a solid friendship with someone, especially at this stage of the game._

Wario: _Definitely I had a list of suspects changing back and forth in my journal. One suspicious thing led to another in my mind, so in the end I had a whole lot of conflicting thoughts. I was feeling frightened for the upcoming quiz._

"I hope most of you had enjoyed your final day here back in Delfino Plaza, for the sixth episode," McHallyboo said to them, arms in his pockets and seeing everyone standing before him. "We've passed five episodes. Five executions, and only five of you are left remaining. Can we go down execution lane and recall each destination we've been at?" He pointed to Vivian.

"Where were we for the first execution of our game?" he spoke to her quickly. Vivian just stared, confused at first, but then gave her answer.

"The hotel lobby?" she said, unsure. McHallyboo nodded.

"Next," he said, pointing at Yoshi. Yoshi thought for a moment, then raised his head.

"The water house, hawkins," he recalled. McHallyboo nodded, then pointed at Luvbi, who put a finger up to her chin.

"We had the third execution at...Ricco tower, in Ricco Harbor" she said to him. With a nod, McHallyboo then pointed to Wario.

"Uh, the fourth place we had an execution was in that slaughterhouse," he replied, and as McHallyboo pointed at Goombella, she was ready with her answer.

"When Bobbery was executed, it was at the entrance terrain of Pianta Village," she said, certainty in her voice. "That was Episode 5." McHallyboo nodded for the final time, the fifth nod the heaviest of all.

"We've been to many places," the host said to all the players. "For one of you, setting foot on land will be last felt at this very spot. Like the two talons of a hawk in soaring flight, you will sail the ocean. A boat will arrive in forty-five minutes that we will all be boarding for tonight. Pack all your belongings, and meet me here back in an hour. The quiz will await the last in line then." The players all nodded, a bit surprised but all accepting for the setting that was to be in store for them. They left simultaneously.

* * *

Yoshi: _It was like the moment of truth. We were all gathered and everything was finishing. From this point on, it was down to the final five. One of us would drop out._

Luvbi: _I'm going to perform as well on this quiz as I've done in my previous tries. I feel confidence. If I had to take the quiz another day instead of today, I would predict failure. But at this special moment, I felt strangely perfect._

One by one, they arrived back to the beach for the third time that day. A boat awaited them, not as big as the ferry from their mission in Episode two but large enough to contain five anxious players and their necessary thinking spaces. In honor of the host's instructions, the players formed a line in front of the boat's entrance ramp. The door opened, and McHallyboo stood at the end and top of the ramp, a serious look on his face.

"May the last person in this line, please take the path to the right as you enter the boat," he said out loud to them. "Everyone else, take your path to the left." Everyone turned around, and saw that it was Luvbi standing last in the formation they had made. As the first four players walked their way up the ramp and into the boat's interior, they turned left, leading themselves down one corridor. As Luvbi entered the boat, she turned right, walking slowly down the corridor to take the quiz for Episode 6.

* * *

She was lead to a single room at the end of the hall, presumably the captain's quarters. As she saw a computer at the desk and an open quiz, she began her first question.

_**1. The Mole is:**_

_**-Male**_

_**-Female**_

Luvbi: _Simple questions were becoming more difficult and difficult every time. It was a matter of final intuition at this point._

_**2. On the first day back from Pianta Village, with whom did the Mole share their room with?**_

_**-Goombella**_

_**-Yoshi**_

_**-Vivian**_

_**-Luvbi **_

_**-The Mole was by themself**_

Yoshi: _Luvbi...I don't know where she lies in my suspicions. She's that sly player that always has something suspicious about her. _

_**3. In the beginning of the 5 Become 1 mission, when was the Mole released from their cell?**_

_**-First**_

_**-Second**_

_**-Third**_

_**-Fourth**_

_**-The Mole was never released**_

_Wario:__ Goombella was mega suspicious during the 5 Become 1 game. She knew all the answers at once, and the whole time she was shouting "Let's work together!" Little did we know, at the end of the game, we found out that working together was the only key. Seemed too likely for me._

_Flashback __**Goombella:**__ "We were supposed to work together so we all survived the rooms. That was the game!"_

_**4. To what room did the Mole make it to in the 5 Become 1 mission?**_

_**-The Cells**_

_**-The Storm Shelters**_

_**-The Pit of Sacrifice**_

_**-The Ten Steps**_

_Goombella:__ Luvbi was very forceful in the Storm Shelters room. She tried to knock Yoshi out, but I intervened her plan. But what if she is the Mole, and her original plan was to make it to the end? Same with Wario in the storm shelters when he was sidetracked by Luvbi. It's all iffy._

_Flashback __**Luvbi**__: "But it was all just a plan. The weakest…will be eliminated!" (Yoshi grabs onto the edge of the pit helpless, but Goombella takes sudden action)_

_Luvbi__: I thought Yoshi had played poorly in the 5 Become 1 game, but he isn't that weak. He was definitely not showing his full potential, and was letting himself drag and be nonchalant. He almost got kicked out in two of the four games._

_**5. When the boatman revealed the location of the Sky Bottle, when did the Mole exit the boathouse to search for it?**_

_**-First**_

_**-Second**_

_**-Third**_

_**-The Mole did not search for a bottle**_

Luvbi: _I don't think many people suspect Vivian. She is quiet in everything she accomplishes and doesn't accomplish. All actions by her seem normal, like when she refused to search for the bottle. If she is the Mole, she's hiding it well._

_Flashback __**Vivian:**__ "I mean, I don't care if the bottle has something good. I would have lost anyway to it."_

Goombella: _Wario getting the bottle first...he had to have some motive for retrieving it. He's always doing something first, be it touching a camera at a breakfast table or running for a plain-looking bottle. He becomes a Mole candidate when it comes to times like those._

_Flashback __**Wario:**__ (grinning with the bottle in his hand) "Well, I guess I have luck on my side."_

_**6. In this episode alone, what object had the Mole received?**_

_**-A plus one**_

_**-A minus one**_

_**-A neutralizer**_

_**-None**_

Vivian: _For some reason, Goombella has moved up on my list. She's so smart, and it's hard to imagine that she would be mean enough to use that intelligence to sabotage other people. But she has the complete potential to do so. She's like a perfect Mole choice._

**7. **_**When did the Mole go into the room to take their mock quiz of Episode 6?**_

_**-First**_

_**-Second**_

_**-Third**_

_**-Fourth**_

_**-Fifth**_

Luvbi: _Yoshi can be a great choice too as a suspect. He's smart, and even though he's open to everyone it seems like he's hiding something else from the rest of the group. Sometimes I feel like I can see through him._

Yoshi: _I haven't suspected Wario since the beginning of the game. But could it be him? Is anyone else voting for him? _

_**8. What action did the Mole perform during Cash it or Sink it?**_

_**-Took a money bag from the island and went back to Isle Delfino**_

_**-Didn't take a money bag from the island and went back to Isle Delfino**_

_**-Was in the boat when it sank**_

_**-Deposited 5,000 coins into their own possession**_

Wario: _Vivian was able to spot a glimmer in the distance, but was it really hero-like? By seeing the sauce pan, it just hurried our chances of making the boat sink. And as we all knew in the end, making the boat sink stopped money from going to the team pot. Her sudden intelligence too was suspicious. She's always fishy._

_Flashback __**McHallyboo:**__ "The sauce pan on Goombella's island would have helped you sink the row boat on its own. Luckily, you group of four had realized that in time, thanks to Vivian's keen eye." (Vivian smiles as the others cheer)_

Luvbi: _Wario's action: no one knew what he was doing when he left the 5,000 coins on the island. He acted like leaving it there had a purpose. In the end, it was just a potential attempt to lose money. It was a fishy action._

_**9. At the breakfast on the beach, what was the first food that the Mole ate or drank?**_

_**-A bacon bagel**_

_**-A melon**_

_**-A blueberry muffin**_

_**-Orange slices**_

-_**A bottle of water**_

Vivian:_On this quiz, I was voting one question for Goombella, and everything else for two certain others. But I voted Goombella because she was suddenly moved up in my list. Still, I had no idea what I was doing._

Goombella: _If Luvbi is the Mole, she's done a good job of diversion._

_**10. Who is the Mole?**_

_**-Vivian**_

_**-Yoshi**_

_**-Luvbi**_

_**-Goombella**_

_**-Wario**_

Yoshi: _It's somebody. One of us is going home tonight._

Luvbi: _Definitely bothered if I am the one to end up leaving the game._

Goombella: _We've all fought our best, but one of us has to go._

Vivian:_ I hope I make it past this episode, just to feel sure about myself._

Wario: _We all hold the potential to be executed. For one of us, the game is over._

* * *

All the lights in the boat had been dimmed, causing the scene to rely only on the light of the moon to revitalize the atmosphere. Being brought to the dinner room of the boat, each player saw that the entire room had been cleared: the dinner tables and various chairs that were so neatly organized in the space were pushed and piled to the sides of the room. In the center of the new and available space were five chairs, each positioned beside one another.

"Our bags," Vivian said, quietly and nervously. As they walked their way to the center of the room, they passed five bags in a row on the ship's flooring, a name labeled on each bag respectively. They all sat down in a chair, in front of McHallyboo, a keyboard, and a television screen. As they settled down, they could faintly hear the sound of moving sea water surrounding their scene.

"We have come to our sixth execution," the host said, his voice accompanied by the sound of the boat's silent ripple across the ocean from the surrounding windows. "Five of you remain. One of you will soon leave this game forever. I must congratulate each one of you for making it this far into the game. If you are executed tonight, do not leave with disappointment, but rather, leave with a sense of self-satisfaction. I congrat you all." Understanding, each player nodded towards McHallyboo.

"The execution," the host began, "begins now." His eyes moved across the string of players before him.

"Vivian," he said out loud. Hearing her name be called first, the player let out a small gasp as her name was slowly typed into the screen monitor. Once done, McHallyboo pressed 'Enter'.

**V-I-V-I-A-N**

**...**

**...**

**...**

**...**

**GREEN**

Vivian let out a huge sigh, her face relieved. McHallyboo's eyes darted immediately towards a certain player.

"Luvbi," he said out loud, as the player's shoulders lifted up. She looked at her name slowly make its way onto the screen, eyes unmoving. The host pressed 'Enter', and her eyes showed a feeling of confidence, yet fear.

**L-U-V-B-I**

**...**

**...**

**...**

**...**

**GREEN**

She closed her eyes, opening them again to see a small smile on McHallyboo's face. The host pointed to a third player.

"Goombella," said McHallyboo, as Goombella's mouth opened slightly. As the host typed her name into the computer and pressed 'Enter', she took in a breath.

**G-O-O-M-B-E-L-L-A**

...

...

...

...

**RED**

The other players sat still with shocked faces. Goombella faced the floor, then when she stood up from her seat, she had a slight smile of defeat on her face.

"Oh, well," she said, the smile still on her face. As McHallyboo stood up as well, they both made their way to pick up her bag from the row of possessions, then walked together towards the back of the room and out. The remaining four players just sat motionless, not bothering to speak until the host and Goombella were both out of sight.

"I'm still confused," said Wario, bewildered and shaking his head.

* * *

McHallyboo carried Goombella's bag, walking their way down the corridor of the side of the ship. Following behind him, the executed player had on the same smile that she had been holding from the execution room, one that held defeat but acceptance.

"I definitely, definitely wasn't expecting that," Goombella admitted. "But I guess my game finally comes to an end, right?"

"It does," said the host. "But rest assured: it was a magnificent one you had played."

* * *

"I can't believe it was her who was executed," said Vivian. "She was just, smart. And she knew the game so much better than any of us."

"I am…quite shocked too," Luvbi said, facing the red monitor. "Ever since the first episode, she has been the key for all our missions. She stayed strong for every game and made the right choices. She never gave up for the group."

_Flashback __**Goombella**__: (at the pier in Gelato Beach) "I'm not taking the exemption. I'm confident enough on the quizzes anyway. I don't need to cost the team money."_

* * *

"I'm sure the Mole wasn't the person I was suspecting," she said to McHallyboo knowingly. "I kept on switching. I knew I should have stayed in one place within my mind."

"This game has been a tricky one," agreed McHallyboo. "Would you say that was your biggest regret? Changing your mind?"

"Oh, to stay very broad, I guess so," Goombella stated. "But a whole collaboration of things led me to my final decisions. And apparently...I was wrong in the end." As she chuckled, they both reached the original entrance of the boat, in the middle of where the two hallways split to both the boat's dining room and to the captain's headquarters.

* * *

"She has the intelligence that surpassed all of us," said Yoshi. "She knew the answers to everything. With her, our games were successful."

_Flashback __**Goombella:**__ "We were supposed to work together so we all survived the rooms. That was the game!" (Both she and Yoshi look at the dangerous path ahead of them)_

"I'm almost happy that she took those final five-thousand coins into her own possession," Vivian said, sounding happy yet sad. "She definitely deserved to have it for the game she's played."

_(flashback of Goombella being the first rider on the roller coaster of Pinna Park during Episode 4, screaming with laughter)_

_Flashback __**McHallyboo**__: "Correct!" (the other players cheer her correct answer)_

"She probably took a wrong turn somewhere," Yoshi thought. "She seemed so confident up until this episode. Something must have changed her."

"There is someone in this game that is the most malicious of all," Luvbi said, looking straight at the red screen monitor. "Someone who is kicking people off, despite their deserving of being the winner."

"Despite her intelligence, the Mole got her," Wario said, stunned. "No matter how smart a player is in this game, the Mole will outdo them." The remaining four all nodded to themselves.

* * *

"You know, this game has been amazing, and I'd be a dumb person to complain about anything," Goombella said out loud to the host. "I've enjoyed every second and that's not even an exaggeration, McHallyboo. I truly, truly loved it." As the boat's original entrance door opened, a chilling gust of wind entered into the boat's interior as they were both exposed to an open ocean. A motor's sound was heard in the distance, and they both saw a boat, zipping towards their very location.

"And this might be my most fun time in the next seconds to come," she said, giving out a laugh enthusiastically, eyeing the vehicle that she was to ride. As the motor boat finally approached them, both bag and Goombella safely made their way onto the mini-motor boat. With a grin, McHallyboo took off his hat, as Goombella waved back with a happy look in her eyes.

"Thanks so much!" she called out, as the motor boat started once again. As it zipped away, McHallyboo took only a short moment looking after the disappearing player before closing the door once again.

* * *

McHallyboo slowly made his way down the corridor, through the boat's interior and back into the dining room where the four players remained. Making his way in front of them, the four remaining players looked at him cautiously.

Standing besides the television and before all of them, each player could only look back at him with both confusion yet determination at what he was about to ask them. It was a difficult question that nobody was going to admit to, but a simple one.

"So, Luvbi, Wario, Yoshi, and Vivian," said McHallyboo, a gleam in his eyes and his eyebrows rising slightly as he spoke out in a clear voice. "Which one of you four is the Mole?"

* * *

**Execution complete! As the game narrowed, it was Goombella who was the Mole's victim out of the final five. And then there were four! But who is the Mole? ****Below are the results for last chapter's recent poll!**

**The Fatal Five: Who do you think the Mole is?**

**_Goombella: The brainy one _**(3 votes/12 percent)** _EXECUTED_**

**__****__****____****Vivian: The timid one** (5 votes/21 percent)

**_Wario: The egotistical on_e **(8 votes/33 percent)

**__****____********__****_Yoshi: The jumpy on_**e _(6 votes/25 percent)_

_**Luvbi: The foxy one: **_(2 votes/9 percent)

**Of course, this is just all reader opinion, so anything can be it. But what truths does this poll hold? Is the sleuthing accurate? And if so, by how much? Could it be flawed? **

**Thanks to everyone who voted! Also, I thank you all, readers and reviewers, just so much from the bottom of my heart (I have a heart?) for being such great readers and detectives of your own. You're all too awesome!**

**One left left, and it is the final four. The start of the second to last episode comes next! What will happen as the game changes? What missions will play out? And most importantly, who is the Mole of this ending vacation? ****Stay tuned!**


	29. A Square Game

**Whoa, we're down to the penultimate round, and I can't believe it! Episode 7 has the approaching final games. Let the game commence!**

* * *

**Episode 7**

_Intelligent, spot on, and clever. All of these words could have described the player who left in last night's surprising execution. Goombella was one of the most advantaged players in our game, and though she had made it more than halfway into the competition, she was still beat. Someone was smarter than her, and that person will ultimately win the game. The game narrows dangerously close to its finish, and we'll soon see just which player is indeed the most intelligent of them all. We'll also see which player has been the most crafty, sly, and deceptive of them all, having fooled everyone in this game from the very start. _

**Who is the Mole?**

**Wario**

Surname: Garlimo

Birthday: September 29

Occupation: Moneylender/Explorer

**Yoshi**

Surname: Dino

Birthday: April 13

Occupation: Fruiterer/Waiter

**Vivian**

Surname: Shadens

Birthday: October 4

Occupation: Visual Display Artist

**Luvbi**

Surname: Nimbis

Birthday: May 5

Occupation: Harpist/Oracle

* * *

Wario: _WHOO. Can you believe this? I can hardly believe it myself, where I am in "The Mole". I didn't even need any exemptions to each this point either. I failed an offer for one, and rejected the other. And look where I am now: the final four._

Luvbi:_ I must say, I'm a bit surprised in myself that I passed the quiz with a -1. No. Highly surprised. Either the person named Goombella was a terrible scorer, which I doubt, or I did exceedingly well. Let's find out from this episode._

_Yoshi: __Goombella was my biggest threat in this game. If I were to have gone into the final three against her, there'd be no chance for victory. With her gone, we all stand a bigger chance to win. Maybe I can do this._  


Vivian: _Really, really nervous at the point of this game, because there's going to be a final three. The weakest player will be kicked out, and I'm really scared that this might be my end. I really have to step up my game, and see what I can do now._

* * *

The boat moved its way across the ocean, to a location that went partially off of Isle Delfino's map. The island resort had served for the players' home for nearly three weeks. Now, with just a few days to go, everyone was on their edge, alert, and everyone had their suspects. Two people would fall short of the ultimate victory at the end of this vacation. One would be the happy victor. And one would be revealed as the Mole.

"Om nom." Yoshi was in the hallway, looking out at the sea and eating a blue-green apple.

_Could it be Yoshi? Ambitious and clever, he has the attitude and ability to hide anything from everyone around him. In Episode 5, he ate a mushroom out of the allotted time limit, breaking the rules of the game and costing money from the team pot._

"Well, I'm officially sea-bothered." Wario walked out of his room cabin, looking a bit dizzy.

_How about Wario? His boastful demeanor has disguised most of who he really is, and he has been the subject of many controversies. In Episode 5, he blatantly touched a simple camera on a table, enabling him to win an exemption and cost money from the team pot._

"We've had worse sleeping quarters," said Luvbi truthfully, using a towel to dry her hair.

_How about Luvbi? Reserved and playing on her own terms, she has managed to make swift moves in the game that have made others suspicious since the very first episode. In Bag Savers, she was able to choose an exemption-winning role in her second mission, based solely on the fact that three durians were hanging above her in a restaurant. A lucky guess, or more than that? _

"I guess it's all right in here," Vivain said contently, looking out the nearest window to her.

_And how about Vivian? The quietest of the players in the game, she grew her way to somehow make it to the final four of the group. But how did she do it? In Episode 4, her attempt to answer questions while aboard the roller coaster was inadequate, hindered by screams and silences on both her rounds. But was it natural fear, or a decoy of her own?_

"Four suspects," said McHallyboo, sitting at the dinner table and facing a video camera. "Four people who all without a doubt have had their suspicious moments. But which one of them is it? Who is...the Mole?" As the camera man walked away, the players went up to him.

"Television coverage," Yoshi said, watching the camera man leave. "Wow. We're popular now."

"So," Luvbi questioned the host with interest, "Where are we traveling? Is our game on this boat?"

"A place called...Delfino Square," said McHallyboo, looking at a map of Isle Delfino. He handed it to Vivian, who looked at it curiously.

"Delfino Square?" Wario retorted. "There's no such place! What are you talking about, McHallyboo?"

"Traditionally, there isn't," said McHallyboo, "but it exists off the usual map of Isle Delfino, you see. Delfino Square will be our next location. Our stop will be approximately in...thirty-five good minutes?"

"Yeah, I can already see something rising," said Vivian, looking closer at the land that emerged from the direction they were heading. It resembled Delfino Plaza, but a definite portion smaller than their familiar location. Something rose into the air, two planks extending up as the players looked in curiosity at the small town before them.

"It's in the middle of nowhere," Yoshi said, interested.

"_We're_ in the middle of nowhere," Luvbi said, as they drifted closer to the unknown land.

* * *

The small town appeared and served almost like a port: a few boats were already docked at the miniature plaza, having carried passengers to and fro from other lands and elsewhere. On the left of the town, the players saw quietness, but on their right, a bustling marketplace was readily visible as Piantas shopped endlessly. As the boat carrying all four players approached towards Delfino Square's land, the large drawbridge that blocked their way separated and began rising up at a steady rate.

The players looked up in wonder above them as their boat sailed right into a water passage, a passage that went through the center of the square and out another end of the plaza. The boat came to a steady and smooth halt, and the doors opened immediately. One by one, the players stepped out to their left, all too eager and uncertain of what they had in store.

"Looks kinda empty," grumbled Wario. " I hope we're in store for at least some fun here at this place."

"You're not even in town yet." McHallyboo had already found his way onto the patch of greenish-yellow colored land, and stood before the players with a smile-holding look on his face.

"Well, and then there were four," the host told them. "Congratulations to you all for making it this far! The only thing holding you back from the final episode is this certain, event-filled round. Consider this penultimate episode a test: to see if you are worthy enough to make it to the final three." All four players nodded in reply.

"For your next game, you will be split into groups of two," McHallyboo said to them. "Two of you who would want to participate in a game with this object, and two would want to participate in a game with this one." In one hand, he held a pink boxing glove, and in the other, a dull-appearing cucumber. All players looked at each of the host's outstretched hands with perplexity.

"Food or boxing?" said Vivian

"Eat, or fight?" thought Yoshi.

"Or, let's just choose an object, and face our fates," Luvbi decided. "We have very little knowledge of what these objects mean anyway."

"I'd go for food obviously, but," Yoshi said carefully, "there's always a trick with these kind of stuff."

"They could have opposite meanings," Wario considered, thinking. "So maybe I should go for food instead, isn't that right?"

"But what if boxing is actually difficult?" Vivian worried.

Luvbi: _We definitely didn't know if there was reverse psychology in play or not. Wario and Yoshi were more physically fit and strong so they had to go for the physical mission, while Luvbi and I wanted to go for more mental roles._

"Let's put ourselves in roles, shall we?" Luvbi commanded.

"How?" Vivian asked.

"How about, one male and one female each," Luvbi said. "We'll guarantee that either of you, Yoshi or Wario, will end up in the physical-prone mission."

"How do you even know there's going to be a physical mission?" Yoshi asked her. "A boxing glove doesn't have to mean fighting."

"A cucumber doesn't have to mean food?" Wario wondered.

"I haven't a clue, but let's try this," Luvbi said. "I'll go for the...cucumber."

"I guess I'm going for...boxing," Vivian said, slightly with hesitancy. They faced the two males

Wario: _So there was a boxing glove, and a cucumber. Me, and Yoshi. Who were you obviously going to pair each object with?_

""Maybe they want me to go for cucumber cause they know I'm a food person," Yoshi thought, "and they want Wario to go with the glove cause he is a physically-strong person."

"Or perhaps it's a double whammy," Vivian considered. "Maybe they expect us to assign different roles and make everything harder. If we keep everything as it's...'intented'... we might get better results."

"So, you're putting me with the boxing glove?" Wario said, raising an eyebrow. "It seems too obvious for me to do such a thing. I mean-"

"Yeah, let's settle it," said Luvbi. As Yoshi went to join Luvbi's side, Wario went to join Vivian.

"So Luvbi and Yoshi for the cucumber, and Wario and Vivian for the boxing glove?" McHallyboo said, as they nodded.

"Yoshi and Luvbi, follow me this way." The host turned around, as the two of them followed him down the now-flattened drawbridge to the West side of the square. The closer they got to their next location, the louder the sound of bustling shoppers became.

* * *

The sidewalk of Delfino Square was right beside the open sea, and as traders and buyers from all around came from across the ocean, they parked their boats right aside the square's wall and did their business of commerce and selling. As Yoshi and Luvbi walked into this special sidewalk, they found themselves among civilians and shoppers who ran amuck. A marketplace was being run and a plethora of stands littered before them.

"Whoa, this place is crazy McHallyboo," said Yoshi. They backed away from a Pianta woman, carrying three ripe durians in a sack.

"At least we know we're gonna have a game involving food now," Luvbi said, still covering her ears.

"This is the market place of Delfino square!" the host said, his voice shouting above everyone else. "Your next challenge is worth a potential 20,000 coins, and you can earn it by playing a series of games in this marketplace. For every game you succeed in, 5,000 coins will be earned for the team pot." He turned and pointed them to the stands that made up the marketplace before them.

"Take a good luck," McHallyboo said. "Here, you will find various food and objects. This is your first game: you have just fifteen minutes to put as many objects as you want into your basket as possible. Your goal is to reach a price value, that in the end, falls only between an interval of one-hundred to one-hundred fifteed coins." Luvbi looked at the two stands behind him with strange looks.

"But there are price tags on everywhere," she said. "This will be easy."

"But here's the catch," said the host, and he pulled out two of the same objects from his front coat pockets. They were sunglasses, but their lens were of extensive size and tinted a peculiar red color.

"Put these on immediately," he said, handing each of them a pair. They did so, and as Yoshi looked at Luvbi, he let out a chuckle.

"You look funny," he blurted.

"Ditto, look at you," Luvbi said back, trying not to smile.

"With these sunglasses, the text color of each price tag will be invisible to you," the host explained. "Turn around." As they did, the two players saw that instead of seeing numbers on the signs above each stand, all they could see was a blank slate of white.

Yoshi: _The numbers were all blank. Everything was shielded from us. This was probably going to be one of our hardest games._

"After twenty minutes, find me, and I will count your basket value," said the host. "Remember, you must reach a value between 100 coins and 115 coins, no more or less. Oh, and keep your glasses on! Otherwise, you'll be breaking the rules. Good luck. Twenty minutes." He walked away, giving the left-behind players a feeling of being lost.

"Grab onto me," Luvbi said, holding onto her partner's arm. "I feel dizzy already."

* * *

McHallyboo lead the other two players up a slanted, large pathway, causing the two of them to huff with tiredness and confusion. It lead straight to Delfino Square's center, or rather, its signature location of importance as the two of them came face to face with a large statue of a Pianta.

"Wow, this town has a terrible layout," Wario couldn't help commenting. "What would you say, McHallyboo?"

"It wasn't exactly meant to be bipedal-friendly," McHallyboo said cleverly, "if you know what I mean."

"Who's...that?" Vivian wondered out loud. As the host walked up to an individual standing in front of the statue, the players stared, seeing a character of short stature in a white undershirt and pink-colored accessories. The players could see that the Pianta-like face that the person presented to them was nothing else but a mask, complete with a tree-sprout that protruded straight out of its head. The person's outfit would have been in full completion, had it not been for the host stealing one of his gloves at the beginning of the game.

"Meet Il Piantissimo," said McHallyboo. "He will be our guest for your next mission."

"Greetings!" Piantissimo greeted back. Even with a mask on, they could tell that he was smiling.

"Really?" Wario said with a heavy groan. "Him?" Vivian sighed as well.

Wario: _We were going to battle THIS guy? Out of all people. I knew who he was, and that he wasn't going to be an easy competitor._

_Vivian: __I knew that I should have went with the other team of people. At the same time, I was happy that Wario was on my side for this challenge._

"You will all face against Piantissimo in a series of duels, most of them physical, in order to win a potential 20,000 coins for the team pot," McHallyboo explained. "Each game that you win will add 5,000 coins for the team pot, and if you don't win one, then the money for that duel will be lost." The players nodded, still feeling uneasy.

"Don't worry: each game will be modified so that you will all stand a fair chance in succeeding against Mr. Piantissimo here," said McHallyboo, patting the back of the guest.

"Otherwise, it'd be quite a shame and bore watching me win each one," the athlete added. The players rolled their eyes in unison.

"The first two duels will be one-on-one games, with one person battling Piantissimo at a time each," McHallyboo explained even more. "Your third game against Piantissimo will involve the two of you in order to beat him. Are you ready to hear your first match contents?" All three players nodded.

"The next game will involve a barrage of punches," said the host, and Vivian immediately stepped back, leaving Wario standing up front. Wario had a face of surprise yet certainty on his face, and even though they couldn't make it, out, they knew that Piantissimo had a smile on his face as well behind his poorly-constructed mask of incognito.

* * *

"Where do we go first?" Luvbi wondered, holding a basket she had picked up from the ground.

"See that?" said Yoshi, pointing to a stand with mangoes. "Mangoes are cheap, and it'll be easier to estimate with cheaper objects. Let's start there." The two vision-impaired players walked up to the lady at the stand, frightening her the tiniest bit as they approached the stand full of mango fruits.

"Hallo!" said Yoshi, looking at the blank price tag. "We'd like some mangoes for dinner tonight."

"Oh, that's heavenly!" replied the please Pianta. "How many would you like?"

"We'll take an amount of...umm," Luvbi began, glancing over at her partner for an answer.

Luvbi: _I felt so blind in many ways. Every move had the potential to be wrong. It was a sickening feeling, and the red tint was making me more disoriented._

"Ten mangoes?" Yoshi said. Luvbi nodded.

"Yes, ten mangoes," Luvbi said. As the lady began placing ten oranges in a separate bag, Luvbi seemed satisfied.

"Hey, how much coins do you think ten mangoes are?" Yoshi hissed to Luvbi.

"Unsure...perhaps like, ten or fifteen coins in total?" she replied. "I'm not a food person."

"Mangoes are cheap, and pineapples and watermelons are the big prices ones," Yoshi confirmed, and turned to see something else. "Like...there." They both saw a stand three spots away from them: pineapples were on its table, and the Pianta owning the stand was shuffling a pile of coins in his hands with pleasure.

"So wait, shouldn't we keep track of how much money we're using?" Luvbi said. "I will be the one to do it." She took out her all-important journal from her pocket, and within it, she spotted the same pen she had been using for the past three days.

"Perfecto, let me do it too," Yoshi said, taking out his own journal. "Mangoes: Ten coins. If we write down all our estimates, we'll be spot on."

"Then we will finish this with ease," Luvbi said, as she took the bag from the Pianta lady. "Perfecto indeed." They both moved on, scaring another slightly-alarmed food stand owner as they went up to him.

* * *

A certain area was elaborately set up for the first game of the Delfino matches, as two opponents got ready to face each other. A dirt path cut through the row of buildings on the right side of the plaza, where the market place was located. The dirt walkway was like a hidden path, and at one end, Wario stood tall, a semi-glare on his face. All the way on the other side, Piantissimo stood tall as well, back arched. Between them, a plethora of crates had been littered throughout the walkway, blocking both of their views and preventing each other from progressing forwards.

"Boxes," Vivian said, her voice in a mixture of certainty yet anxiousness.

"Welcome to the first game of the Delfino Duels!" shouted McHallyboo, and both Wario and his opponent looked up. He was upon the building, an equal distance away from both game participants.

"This before you is the first of your three games," the host explained. "When I say go, both of you must make it as fast as you can to the center of this narrow path. Boxes will obstruct you, but you must make it past them. In the middle of this path is a flag, marked the color white. The first person to grab this flag, hold it up in the air, and then yell 'Delfino Plaza' will be the victor of this duel. This is the Crate Race!"

Wario: _When I heard "boxes will obstruct you", I laughed. I had literally fought to the sudden death breaking boxes in the other game last episode, and for this challenge, I had to make it past a measly twenty feet of mud walkway._

"Seems easy enough," Wario said to Vivian behind him. "Grab a flag and yell out. I got this." Vivian nodded.

"For this game, Piantissimo will lose his gloves," the host said, holding up both personal weapons of the individual. Piantissimo looked down at his own hands, scoffing and shrugging with unconcern.

"Are you both ready?" called out McHallyboo, holding up a green flag of his own. As he lifted it into the air slowly, he sharply brought it back down, waving it at the same time.

"GO!" Both players immediately darted into the narrow arena, literally disappearing into a crate of boxes. As Wario leaped forwards to barge into one, he discovered that some of the crates had wheels on the bottom of them, as he fell face-forwards into the mud.

"My...my eyes!" he shouted, as Vivian winced.

Wario: _My first instinct was to just barge through the course easily. But by pushing forwards like that, a stupid, hidden wheel-floored crate went into motion. I was pretty much blind when I fell into the mud._

* * *

"Pears," Luvbi said, looking at the stand before her. "Pears are cheaper than mangoes, is that true?"

"Depends, maybe," Yoshi said, leaning his chin on the table. "Actually, I'm not sure. But let's just assume that they are." Luvbi frowned.

"You're no help," Luvbi said, looking at the fruit before her. With a shrug, she grabbed ten of them and put them on the stand, then immediately took out her journal from under her arm.

"Then I guess these are...eight coins," Luvbi wrote down, as Yoshi did the same. "If the ten mangoes were ten coins, it must be lower..." The Pianta handed Luvbi the bag, as she put it into her basket.

"Hey," Luvbi said suddenly, a smile on her face. "Why don't you start carrying the basket now?

"Why?" Yoshi said, turning around.

"It'll get heavier, and its custom for the male to do all the heavy stuff," she said in an overworked voice. "I'm doing all the accounting work anyway."

"Oh, come on, it won't be getting _that_ heavy," Yoshi said in a voice of reluctance.

"Exactly," she said, handing him the bag with a smile. Yoshi sighed, taking it with a defeated grin.

* * *

"Thirty seconds in!" shouted McHallyboo, as Wario used his hands to guide him up back on his feet. On the other side, Piantissimo had already gotten past the pile of single-filed boxes on the ground and was faced with an entire wall full of stacked crates.

"Intimidating, but easy," Piantissimo said, as he began to pound furiously on the bottom crate in order to break his way through. Wario used the clean side of his cap to wipe his eyes, and with a clearer face, he walked up to his own wall of crates blocking his way. With a single arm drawback, he pounded into the bottom crate, cracking it nearly in two.

"Now THIS is more like it!" he exclaimed in a tone of triumph, repeating the action again and again and breaking his wall of boxes.

Vivian: _Piantissimo had speed, but Wario had strength. I was definitely excited to see how it would turn out because there were balancing forces and weaknesses._

"Almost there!" shouted out Piantissimo, but he wasn't almost there. As he struggled to break his barrier, Wario made one more plow with his fist and broke through, but in the process, fell into the mud once again.

Wario: _I didn't expect it to be THAT terrible. I felt like I was walking down one of those annoying slip-n-slide toys. The only difference, this one was fifty-feet long._

* * *

"Out of the way!" a Pianta shouted, dashing right passed Yoshi as he clung on to his basket carefully.

"Geez," Yoshi said, looking after him. "Delfino Square isn't a race track."

"That's funny," said Luvbi, writing something into her journal. It was close to approaching fifteen minutes, and Luvbi and Yoshi were making it out of their seventh stand, walking away as they both looked into their basket.

"Okay," said Luvbi, as they placed two purchased pineapples into their basket. "Those pineapples were our seventh fruit."

"What's our total fruit value now?" Yoshi asked.

"The fruits we now have add up to a value of...71 coins," she said, reading from her journal.

"Make sure the math is correct," Yoshi told her, looking down at his basket. "I can't keep track anymore with this basket in my hands."

Yoshi: _Luvbi was the only one in charge now for the fruit values. She could have been writing anything in her journal. It was a perfect sabotage chance. _

"I'm pretty sure it's correct," Luvbi said, putting her pen away. "I have every price written down next to each fruit value. So if anything, I shouldn't have anything wrong."

"All right," said Yoshi, looking around for their next stand. "Where to now?"

"How about the oranges?" Luvbi suggested. They both made their way to their eighth stand.

* * *

As soon as Wario got to the very mid-center of the slippery path, he came upon a row of five objects: five sparkling, multi-colored wrapped gift boxes that made him stare in confusion.

"What do you see?" Vivian called out.

"There are...presents," Wario said in a confused voice, then in a louder voice said, "What the heck are Christmas gifts doing in the middle of this game?"

"Presents?" Vivian repeated. "That's strange...but open them! The flag is probably inside one of them!"

"Where else could it be?" Wario wondered. He ran up to the present in the center of the row and picked it up, just as Piantissimo's figure emerged from the wall of boxes on the other side, slipping through a crack.

"Present boxes?" he said, voice in the same exclamation of confusion. Wario punched directly into the box he was holding, holding it up with his other hand. He then proceeded to use his hand to search its insides. As he realized there was nothing inside, Piantissimo was already stomping continuously on another present box.

"Grr, it must be in this one," he said, picking up another box.

* * *

"Melons! Your favorite," Luvbi said, dropping them off into Yoshi's basket.

"If this basket wasn't so...heavy...I'd be jumping for joy," Yoshi muttered, his face strained.

"Hush, don't fret," Luvbi said, hushing him. "We have a lot of time." She looked up at a clock, on a mini-tower behind them, and her eyes went wide.

"Or maybe we don't," she corrected herself. "Three minutes."

"What's our fruit value at this point?" said Yoshi, struggling to hold their loaded basket.

"95 coins," Luvbi said bluntly, using her pen to write it down.

"We need around ten more coins to be safe," Yoshi said to her. "We need between one-hundred and one-hundred fifteen coins in total to win." He pointed to a final stand, full of cherries.

"There," he said. "A cherry bunch is more expensive than usual and should cost around five coins. We'll take two for ten."

"Are you sure?" Luvbi said, adjusting her red sunglasses. "Delfino Square is a very odd place with different values. We don't know anything."

"No, look," said Yoshi, as they both turned to see the sign. The Pianta had apparently gone on a demand for more income, and was making a new sign in a different black marker than everyone around him.

**Cherry Bunches: 5 coins each **

As they went up to the cheery stand, they had just two minutes left till game's finish.

* * *

"Darn," said Piantissimo, seeing an empty smashed box before him with no flag inside, as he moved on to another one. Wario was on his second box as well, and as he finally opened it, he looked inside of it with alarm to see there it was absent of a flag.

"None?" he exclaimed, just as Piantissimo had opened his second box to it absent of a flag as well. A lone present was located an equal distance between them.

"That's it!" Wario shouted, leaping to get it. Piantissimo beat him to it, but Wario tugged it from his arms, gaining it in possession. Picking it up, he threw his box right at the wall besides him, as it seemed to smash and transform into an aura of flying debris. Wario ducked, then looked around at the splinter and gift wrapping that had gathered around him.

"Hey...no, is it?" Right at his feet was a white flag, its fabric glistening right up back at him. Wario picked it up, feeling shocked and surprised as he held a grin.

"This is it!" Wario said. "I won! The white flag!" He looked at Piantissimo, who seemed to be holding his breath. From behind him, Vivian was yelling something.

"Yell it!" Vivian shouted. "Say it!"

"What?" Wario yelled, bewildered at Vivian's words. But just at that moment, Piantissimo had power-walked to the unaware player, and with a swift movement, swiped the important-object right out of Wario's hand before he could react.

"Delfino Plaza!" Piantissimo shouted, his voice proud and arm stretched into the air with the flag in his hand. Wario's eyes fell upon his opponent, at first confused, then a second later with a look of stunned realization.

* * *

"Here!" called out Luvbi, as Yoshi hurriedly brought a basket up to a certain stand at the end of the marketplace. McHallyboo was standing behind it, and he examined the basket with a meticulous look.

"Good work," the host said to them. "You had fifty-nine seconds remaining. Nicely done." Luvbi and Yoshi looked relieved.

"All right, so," Luvbi started, as the host began pulling each object one by one. "How much does this all cost?"

Luvbi: _I had a slight gut feeling that we might have gotten it. Even though we didn't double-check the math in the end, I was sure we got somewhere close. _

Yoshi: _My biggest fear was that we had under-priced our total money value, because we didn't get as much time in the end as we wanted._

"Your goal was to reach a value between one hundred coins and one-hundred fifteen coins," McHallyboo said slowly. "You got..." Both Yoshi and Luvbi held their breaths.

"One-hundred and sixty-eight coins," the host finished. "Fifty-three coins over-limit."

"Wut," said Yoshi, face blank. Luvbi flipped immediately back to her journal, still bewildered.

Yoshi: _I had no idea how we ended up shooting so high in the end. It was embarrassing for both of us._

Luvbi: _The game seemed almost impossible in the first place, so I wasn't put down at all when we failed._

"You did a rather terrible job on that one," McHallyboo said honestly, "but you still have two more tasks to complete. Now if you excuse me, I must now explain the rules for an underwater voyage." He went off, leaving the other two in wonder of what else was happening at the moment.

* * *

"Didn't you remember?" Vivian said to Wario, who had already made his way back to the path's start. "You had to yell, 'Delfino Plaza' when you got the flag. That was the only way to win."

"What! I was running my butt off in that game," Wario said, his voice mad as he continued to wipe the mud off from his hat. "I got it all, except for two unimportant words. This stinks."

Wario: _Really now? How was I supposed to remember such a measly rule like that while in the midst of mud and item-destroying? Vivian didn't understand anything. If she played this game, she probably would've forgotten that little rule too. _

Vivian: _There was just one important rule that Wario had to remember, and he forgot it at the end. I'm not sure if he did it on purpose or not, but I didn't want to blame him if it really was an accident. I'd feel bad._

"Well, still," Vivian started, but Wario just turned his back to her.

"I can't wait to see you play your own game," Wario said, wiping the remaining mud off his shoes and shaking his head.

Wario: _It was all still a game. I was making new enemies._

McHallyboo appeared before them, jogging to their location.

"I am back, my apologies" he announced. "As I had said before, this first duel was a loss for you both. Wario, you were close, but were missing the all-important words that had to be spoken in order to seal that victory. No five-thousand coins, but your next game still awaits! Vivian, you must play this game." Piantissimo came to join them from the other side, appearing more than pleased.

"What's next?" asked Vivian, her voice showing a little bit of fear.

"The next duel will involve...something very vital for survival," McHallyboo began, holding up a large cylinder-like object made of metal. As she realized what it was by the label of "O2" on its side, she stood motionless, feeling dread. Wario only snorted, and Piantissimo was smiling even more than McHallyboo was.

* * *

**Hey! Hope you're all enjoying your Winter break so far ^^ This month in general has been so busy yet rewarding. Snow and egg nog never felt so good.**

**Episode 7! What will come for these four players as this episode starts off?**

**I just wanted to imput something from the last execution: Goombella was my brother's personal suspect since the very beginning of the game. I had the pleasure of showing him last chapter's results, and got a pretty good reaction out from him from that, hehe :) **

**Oh, and it's almost New Years! As a gift for everyone, you can check out my own personal Christmas present song cover on my profile page, somewhere near the top. It's pretty terrifying so...don't judge me x.x Ahaha. But it's my little spread of late holiday cheer ^^**

******Stay tuned for the second part!** And happy 2011 everyone!


	30. Marketplace of Duels

**Second part! **

**Yes, I was swearing to myself that I wouldn't fail a whole month without updating. And I guess I have succeeded! x) **

**

* * *

**

McHallyboo was facing the two market players before him, speaking loudly above the surrounding people in the marketplace. He had already finished describing the rules for Vivian's next game, and was switching between each pair of team to explain their required tasks.

"Are you ready for your second game?" he asked.

"Surely we have no choice," Luvbi said, looking at him.

"Bring it," said Yoshi, pumped and ready.

"Your job," said McHallyboo, his mouth forming a small smile as he divulged the rules for their next game, "involves a little bit of shady, taboo work. Your mission is to steal at least three fruits from any three stands in this sidewalk." Yoshi and Luvbi's faces were indescribable.

"Steal?" Luvbi repeated with confusion. "Is that even allowed?" McHallyboo nodded with a grin.

"Oh God," she muttered, rolling her eyes.

"When you say steal," Yoshi began, chuckling, "you don't mean to actually-"

"Yep," said McHallyboo. "You must steal three fruits from these stands: different fruits, different stands. You must not be caught or seen by the stand owner or anyone else in this marketplace, or you will fail this game. If anyone notices you in the act of stealing, then you will fail as well. This game has been heavily enforced and monitored by our TV producers, so in the end, all will be settled and explained. However, it can still be dangerous."

Yoshi: _Wow. This game sounded evil.__ But at the same time, it also sounded fun...you won't put this certain video confessional on TV, will you?_

"When I walk away from this spot, you will have twenty minutes to get your three fruits," the host said to them, and he took a step back. "Ready? Go." Before the two of them knew it, they were alone once again in the bustling supermarket. They faced each other, faces hesitant

Luvbi: _This game was like...unpleasant and corrupt in so many ways. I didn't know McHallyboo was so vile, or creative when it came to forming up missions. _

* * *

Two people were in uncomfortable gear as they stood at the edge of Delfino Square's river. More like a random passageway of water than a stream, it would serve as the next dueling spot for both Vivian and Piantissimo. Around each of their bodies, Vivian and Piantissimo had on scuba suits, and around their heads were glass spheres that would serve as tools for their survival. Behind each of them was an odd metal canister, ones that McHallyboo had been holding earlier.

"This game," announced McHallyboo, "is called the Glow Stick Dive! At the bottom of this moat are hidden glow sticks. Your job will be to travel down below the surface, find and retrieve one, then bring it back. Simple enough. The first person to resurface with a glow stick in their hand will be the winner."

Vivian: _This game was like, the worst fit for me. I couldn't swim at all. And to make it worse, I was going against someone who obviously could._

"But, here comes the advantage," said McHallyboo, pointing to a red button attached to Vivian's left shoulder. "Once you press this red button, the buoyancy of your suit will be rigged and bring you right to the water's surface. So once you find a glow stick, this button is your victory. On top of that, your tank holds a 5-minute supply of oxygen, while Piantissimo's only holds one."

"And what happens after this minute interval ends?" Piantissimo argued, sounding alarmed.

"Well, all you have to do is resurface, charge in the air for a mere five seconds, and your tank is good as new," the host explained.

Wario: _Vivian held so many advantages in this game, so no way was she going to fail. If she did, I would have to write a lot more into my "Suspects List"._

"There's probably a lot of obstacles down there," Wario shouted, standing a few feet behind them. "Better be safe than fast, you know!" Vivian's eyes showed nervousness.

"Obstacles?" she wondered.

"I've never scuba dived in my life," Wario called out. "But if I were you, I'd go as slow as possible."

"All right," said Vivian, nodding to him.

"Well, I'm ready," said Piantissimo, as his tank was attached to the back of his suit.

"I'm not," Vivian said, her voice muffled by her helmet

"Okay!" shouted McHallyboo, standing behind both of them. "The first to retrieve a glow stick wins! Good luck!" He held up a flag, the same one that Wario had been holding during their last duel.

"On your Moley mark...go!" he shouted. Piantissimo immediately leaped into the water. After a second of hesitation, Vivian closed her eyes and did the same.

* * *

Peeking over her left shoulder, Luvbi was leaning over a wooden plank. The marketplace was bustling more than ever before. Yoshi stood behind her, hands clutching a basket.

"This stand right around the corner has avocados," Yoshi whispered to her. "Those should be easy to steal. They're small!"

"What about those?" Luvbi said, pointing to a stand near McHallyboo's stand. "The stand has '**Ptero fruits**', 5 coins each. It's close to the end."

"If we travel a lot, people might see us," said Yoshi, squinting and looking into the distance.

"I don't want to risk that walk, never mind," Luvbi reconsidered. " How about avocados? Are those easy to steal then?"

"I don't know," Yoshi replied, his face frowning. "I don't steal stuff. Do you?"

"No, I do not," Luvbi said, glaring at him and grabbing the basket. "But I can't believe we're doing this."

"Yeah, me neither," Yoshi replied, eyes on the avocado stand. "I didn't know I'd be a thief."

"But this is all a game," said Luvbi, then stepped out into the open of the marketplace. "Okay. Let us do this. Now!" She was in plain view, as she beckoned for Yoshi to take a step out too. As he slowly stepped his way forwards awkwardly, Luvbi went up to talk to the food stand owner.

"Oh, hi, umm," Luvbi began, looking at the stand owner before her. "Are these avocados?"

"Yes, they are," he replied, his voice confused. Yoshi face palmed as the Pianta pointed to a sign right upon the counter: **Avocados, 4 coins each**.

"Oh, that's...ungh!" Luvbi fell against the stand before her, alarming both the stand owner and her partner.

Luvbi:_ I knew I had to do something dramatic. I had to do the first thing that came to my mind. Being the actress I was, I fell to the ground in an attempt for help._

"My ankle," she groaned, grabbing onto the stand before her. She motioned to Yoshi, who gave a thumbs-up signal back. From the loud noise, everyone in that area of the market turned to look at the fallen player.

"Are you okay?" the Pianta shouted, alarmed. A magnet seemed to attract everyone around them immediately. Eyes were staring at the small commotion that was caused, and the Pianta had rushed to the other side of the stand to help the fallen player. Luvbi's eyes were wide with surprise as she got up.

"I am all right," she said testily, getting away from the Pianta, then looking around her.

"I saw her fall!" a Pianta woman said, looking worried. "I guess she's okay now."

Luvbi: _Oh no...I was the center of attention. And I had already sent Yoshi._

"Hey...what's that dinosaur doing!" said a voice in the distance. All eyes turned to Yoshi, who froze. He had just grabbed an avocado from the stand, and was midway putting it into his pocket. Luvbi looked panicked. Shouts arose.

"Thief!"

"I'm innocent!" Yoshi cried. Luvbi ran over to his side, as they both cowered helplessly.

Yoshi: _I felt like I was shot. There I was, fruit in hand._

Luvbi: _I had done something stupid. We failed, just as I predicted._

* * *

Vivian opened her eyes to see a world of blue darkness around her. She gasped, realizing that not only was she sinking safely and steadily to the bottom of the river, but that she was able to breathe clearly and fully. After a few seconds, she had hit the river's bottom.

Vivian: _As scary as it was, it almost felt magical too. I was underwater at the bottom of a stream, but at the same time it was all clear around me. It was never like anything I've seen._

"Glow stick," Vivian whispered to herself. "Where is it?" She was now walking on the floor of the water, taking slow but steady steps. Something darted on her right side, making her gasp and turn. A green fish the size of her helmet whizzed past her.

"Oh my gosh," she said, as she stepped into a pile of seaweed on the ground.

"Hey!" She froze, hearing a voice emitted from her helmet. But soon enough, she realized it was Wario.

"Oh hi...are you...?" she began.

"McHallyboo gave me this walkie-talkie...so I could guide you," he informed her, then with a smile said, "And you know, so you wouldn't be scared all down there alone."

"I'm fine," said Vivian, managing to smile herself. The dampness of the seaweed below her enabled it to clump around her left leg, and as she struggled to get loose, she saw something else whiz past her side. It was Piantissimo, swimming past her in the water's "air" instead of staying on the ground.

"No!" she gasped, as she looked into the distance.

"Are you okay?" Wario said, sounding alarmed. "What happening down there?"

"My...my foot's stuck!" Vivian said. "And Piantissimo is already here!" A small row of neon-yellow could be seen a few feet away from her, and as she struggled to free herself, Piantissimo swam towards it. But before he was completely above the line of glow sticks, he paused, floating aimlessly in the water. Suddenly, he faced up and began swimming towards the ocean's surface.

"His air supply," Vivian sighed. Using her hands, she managed to free herself from the underwater flora. Slowly getting back onto her feet, she walked herself slowly to the row of crucial objects.

"Just one," she said to herself. But before she could bend down and grab one, a shadow loomed over her. Piantissimo was already swimming his way back down, and as she finally grasped a glow stick, Piantissimo had already grabbed one for himself.

Vivian: _Piantissimo came out of nowhere again. I panicked. I was sure that if it wasn't for that seaweed, I would have been winning at that moment. It was all tense._

Piantissimo turned swiftly back up towards the direction of the surface, but Vivian pressed the button on the left shoulder of her suit. All of a sudden she began to rise slowly, ascending faster and faster at a speedier rate. After seconds passed, she rose completely up, reaching the surface of the water within seconds and taking in the open air around her.

"Did I win?" she said, opening her eyes slowly.

"And we have a winner!" came McHallyboo's voice. As Vivian turned to face her right, she saw Piantissimo in the water besides her, already holding his glow stick in the air for his fifth consecutive second.

Wario: _Man...I was already predicting what the outcome of our last game was going to be. Truthfully, I didn't even want to try and play anymore._

* * *

After a large discussion had settled down between the police officers of Delfino Square and the producers of the all-important television show, the players were finally released from their spot. The miniature chaos within the marketplace had vanished, and McHallyboo walked up to the two players.

"Well, you didn't win," the host said slowly, "but at least no one got hurt."

"We could have been arrested," Yoshi said, dusting off his boot.

"Well, we almost did," Luvbi said, settling herself.

"Or tasered," Yoshi said bitterly.

"Don't say that," Luvbi said sharply.

Luvbi: _I think it was a bit of my fault for causing that commotion. From falling down, all I did was draw all eyes towards us. It wasn't completely Yoshi's fault. _

Yoshi: _I thought that game was gonna be fun, but it wasn't. Luvbi attracted too much attention, and I should have waited to grab that avocado. We both failed in different ways._

"This game was lost, but one game still remains," McHallyboo said, his voice supportive. "I will now introduce your last game. How does this look?" He fished into his pocket and got out a handful of shining, blue objects: ten blue coins. He gave five to Yoshi, and five to Luvbi.

"I like this," Yoshi said, hypnotized.

Yoshi: _Holding actual money in my hand made me want it more than ever. I guess I'm a little greedy when it comes to things like this._

Luvbi: _I wasn't phased by the money. In fact, I know that winning at the end of this game would be one of the most glorious things to feel. To only imagine victory..._

"This is not your money," said the host, as they hid their disappointment. "Your job is to do one simple task: replicate the basket that you had in the beginning. That means, you must have the exact same fruits and number of fruits that you began with from your first challenge."

"From the first game?" Yoshi said. "That's virtually impossible!"

"Or is it?" said the host. "How good is your memory?"

"Maybe it's not as bad as we think," Luvbi said to herself, thinking hard about the mission.

"I'll give you no more than ten minutes," the host said. "After the time ends, go to my stand, and I will judge your basket." He walked off, and the players were left alone in the marketplace for the third time and last time. Luvbi pointed over to a stand, holding nothing but mangoes.

"The mango stand," she said. "I think we started there." The two of them walked up to it, the money in their hands.

* * *

"Second victory down," said Piantissimo, removing his glass helmet and breathing in real air. "One more to go." Vivian was removing her own helmet, sitting on the grass exhausted and appearing more than exhausted.

Wario: _Our money was going down the drain, and I was getting more aggravated and aggravated. I didn't know what Vivian was doing down there in the water, but whatever happened, we still lost._

Vivian: _While I was underwater, my leg got clumped in some sort of seaweed. Wario told me to walk slow in the beginning, and I did, but it didn't help me at all to avoid that obstacle. I should have just swam...but then again, I can't even swim. It was difficult, and tiring._

"It wasn't your fault that you lost," Wario said, shrugging. "I know it was hard. I heard you struggling as Piantissimo was drawing near."

"Well," Vivian. said, letting out a sigh, "I tried."

"Tried, and almost succeeded," said the host, who had watched their game fully. "No money has been won yet. Your duels have had no successes yet. Nothing achieved."

"Nothing, except for a few broken backbones," said Wario, his voice showing glumness. McHallyboo chuckled.

"However, your next and final game will have the biggest advantage of all," McHallyboo told them. "Instead of one person playing, the two of you must work together to complete the final victory. Or rather, potential victory." Vivian and Wario looked at each other, then both at Piantissimo.

"So what's the game?" Piantissimo asked, his confidence way over the normal limit. Suddenly, they heard from behind them the sound of an engine start up, and as they turned around, they saw a vehicle at the beginning of the gravel road that led up to Delfino Square's center. Vertically-long in shape, it resembled a race car, as the two players only stared with awe.

"What...oh dear," said Vivian, her eyes wide.

Vivian: _Could we really do this? I was definitely up for it, but at the same time, I was just scared._

"Don't tell me we're going to be the drivers," Wario said, voice and face shocked.

"Very soon, you will be," McHallyboo said, smiling widely. "After all, this place was originally meant to be for driving. You will be having a race." Wario shook his head and laughed, while Vivian just kept staring.

"We will call this duel Man Vs. Machine," the host explained. "Both the race car and Piantissimo will begin at the starting line. At the sound of the horn, both teams must race to the top of the hill to the finish. While the racing car has a higher top speed-"

"How do you know?" interrupted Piantissimo, insulted.

"...it also has a very terrible acceleration start," the host explained to them. "Both you, Wario and Vivian, will be in the car. In order to the win, one must hit the pedal, and the other must switch gears while the car moves."

"Sounds strangely familiar," Wario said in a whisper.

"Both must cooperate to move to stop speed," McHallyboo said. "So, are you ready? Let the race begin!"

* * *

"Oranges!" Luvbi called out, stopping Yoshi as they halted to the stand besides them. Grabbing four oranges, they put it into their basket.

"That's 105 coins," counted Yoshi, writing it into his journal. In it, he also wrote down a new list to the side: **Fruit Basket, Game 3.**

"Look how much money we spent already," Yoshi said, showing it to Luvbi. "No wonder we failed our first game."

"Tragic, I know," she said. "As long as we repeat every step we took before, we should be good."

"Is that what you're doing?" Yoshi asked, curious at Luvbi's moves. "I thought this game would be impossible, but we're succeeding."

"It's memory relocation," she said to him, as she, one by one, put oranges into her basket. "If you just repeat everything you had done at an earlier time, things should go smooth..." Luvbi stopped in her tracks, looking around.

"What's after the oranges?" she said out loud. "I can't remember." Yoshi sniffed the air.

"You use memory relocation," he said, pointing to a stand of melons proudly. "But I use my nose."

"How could I forget?" Luvbi said with a laugh, carrying the basket of crucial fruits and hurrying to the stand as well. They had five minutes left.

* * *

The race car that Wario and Vivian were situated in could hold a maximum of two people. Wario was in the front seat, a pedal at his foot at he looked directly ahead of him at their path to travel. Directly behind him, another space was provided for Vivian, who looked to her right at a series of light and buttons within her car seat. The two of them wore goggles, as their car engine let out an odd sound.

"We can begin," said McHallyboo. Piantissimo stood to the left of the car on the road, in a very proper stance. At the top of the hill they all saw a large row of padding, and though the padding served to the players as a mark for their finish line, it also served to them as the only thing that would prevent their race car from smashing into bits at the end.

"When the horn is sounded, the first team to the top of the hill wins!" said McHallyboo, above the beginning engine of the race car. "In order for maximum effect, the gears of the race car must be switched every 5 seconds! Vivian, that is your job. When the blue button besides you lights up, you must press it."

"Uh oh," she said quietly, looking to her right. A blue button was visible, as she kept her finger on it.

"Make sure not to press it at the wrong time," Wario said, turning his head. "Who knows what'll happen? The car might just stop!"

"Yeah," Vivian said, nodding. "My technique is to shout every time the light turns on."

"Wario, you must keep your foot at the pedal and push hard," McHallyboo said to him, "or else the original power will be lost. It must be pushed to the full potential at all times, and that means all the way."

"I got that," Wario said slowly, keeping his hands on the steering wheel and his face firm. Piantissimo was still in his stance, ready to race, as Wario and Vivian tightened their goggles.

"This race will go so fast, that you may only need just a ten second time limit to finish it," said the host. "On your mark?" Their faces were all straight ahead.

"Get set?" Piantissimo's face was in a small smirk, as the other two kept their faces forward with apprehension.

GO!" A horn erupted from the side stand, and immediately, Piantissimo was off. The race car moved just a couple of feet in its first second, as Wario kept his foot on the pedal.

"Is your foot all the way on the pedal?" Vivian said, panicked.

"Yes!" Wario yelled back, confused, but then pushed an inch more with his foot. Almost as if a second engine kicked in, the car moved at double its rate, as Wario fully pushed with his foot completely. Now, it was moving faster than before, but still lagging behind the incredible speed of Piantissimo.

"Gear switch!" Vivian shouted, seeing the blue button besides her light up instantly. She moved her hand and pressed it, as a clicking sound erupted from their vehicle. They were moving in a straight line and were traveling up the slanted hill already. Piantissimo was diagonally in front of them.

"He's still ahead!" Wario said with a groan, as he kept his foot pushing on the pedal.

"Switch!" said Vivian again, pressing the blue button that lighted up. Their gear was changed, and the race car was gaining its rate of speed. At one split second, Piantissimo was parallel to the speeding car, and the next second, he was behind.

"Blue!" said Vivian, pressing the lighted button for a final time. The car was now at its top speed, as Vivian held onto her goggles. Wario let out a shout of victory, right before their car crossed the red finish line first. Then, they both yelled out in fright.

Wario: _Before I could even know what was happening, our car smashed into the pile of boxes at the end and my head was spinning. I was caring too much about my safety than anything else._

Vivian: _I couldn't see anything. I was grabbing onto my seat for dear life, hoping my seatbelt wouldn't rip off and send me flying._

* * *

_Plop!_

Luvbi dropped the heavy basket onto McHallyboo's stand, as he put down his newspaper.

"We produced it again," Luvbi said to him. "This is the exact replica."

"Just like a clone," Yoshi piped up.

"You both sound sure on this," said the host, as he couldn't help but smile." Are you certain this is the basket from the first game?" Yoshi and Luvbi looked at each other, faces showing a little uncertainty. But never the less, they both nodded.

"I will count the fruits off," he announced. The host went up to the basket, and one by one, began taking out fruits and putting it on the wooden stand, while checking off a piece of paper on his slate. Luvbi and Yoshi. held their breaths.

Luvbi: _I didn't know what to expect. Our games were always unpredictable, which always unnerves me. Slightly._

Yoshi: _I wanted to win this one. We lost two games already, and I didn't want our entire morning to be wasted winning nothing. This was our only chance._

"You had spent a total of one hundred and sixty-eight coins," said McHallyboo, shaking his head. Luvbi sighed heavily with disappointment, but Yoshi looked confused.

"I'm sorry," said the host. At first, the players were baffled. Then, Yoshi looked into his journal.

"But, that's what we got the first time," he said, showing it to Luvbi.

"Are you sorry for the fact that we lost our losing streak?" Luvbi said, smiling slyly and looking at McHallyboo. The host laughed.

"Yes, well, possibly," he replied. "Congratulations, for your three games were not a complete failure! This basket was a perfect replica, and you win 5,000 coins."

"I knew we could do this one!" Yoshi shouted. "A morning well spent!" Luvbu laughed.

"It's only five-thousand coins," Luvbi said, and she smiled to herself.

"I believe our job here is done," said the host. "Follow me. We have one more step to finish."

* * *

All four players were reunited. Though the day was difficult and success was minimal, they felt a sense of accomplishment as they were drawn to the town fountain of Delfino Square. While Vivian and Wario stood on one side of the host, Luvbi and Yoshi stood on the other.

"Well, your games have been successfully completed," McHallyboo began. "A job well done to both teams." All four of them clapped lightly, knowing their own failures and successes.

"Luvbi and Yoshi, you went through a series of games in the market, while Wario and Vivian, you played your missions around the square battling against Piantissimo," the host said.

"Yeah," Wario started. "I mean, you had no idea how we were able to-"

"STOP!" shouted McHallyboo, startling all of the players. "No more shall be discussed. I guess I'll go immediately to the rules of this game." As the players looked even more confused, the host turned to face Vivian and Wario.

"While you did your duels, Yoshi and Luvbi were subjected to three games," counted off the host. "The first one was a predicting game. The two of them had to predict the number of fruits to put into their basket that would fall within a certain value range. In the second game, the two of them had to steal three different fruits within twenty minutes from stands."

"Steal?" Vivian repeated, looking surprised.

"In the third game, they had to replicate the same basket as they had ended up with from their initial, first task," McHallyboo finished. "Your job is this: to predict how many of these three games Luvbi and Yoshi managed to win. You guess correctly, you will add 5,000 coins to your total value win." Wario and Vivian faced each other hurriedly, as McHallyboo did a silent signal to both Yoshi and Luvbi, who turned away.

"Well...this is hard," Wario muttered, his face clueless and scratching his head. "How do we even know what they did? Do you wanna just guess?"

"Yeah, I mean, we have no idea what the games even played out," Vivian thought. "We only have vague descriptions of them, but no clue on results."

"Is stealing hard?" Wario said, confused. "I think that was one of their missions."

"I don't know," Vivian said. "But I would think they failed the 'stealing' mission. I don't know." She turned around to look at Yoshi and Luvbi.

"How about we just assume they won...one game?" Wario said, thinking. "I mean, we won one game ourselves, so if anything, we can take this guess with possibility."

"Well...I guess," Vivian replied.

"Do you have an answer?" McHallyboo asked. Vivian turned to look at the host and the other team fully.

"We predict," began Vivian, sounding unsure, "that Yoshi and Luvbi won just one of their games." She and Wario held her breath, waiting for the host's reply.

"Correct!" shouted McHallyboo, as they looked at each other with surprise. Yoshi and Luvbi were happy, as Wario looked at Vivian with a surprised laugh.

Vivian: _It was surprising when we got that answer. A one out of four chance, which was still likely, but at least we won more money._

Wario: _Who would have known such an easy guess would get us money like that? It was all chance._

"Well, five thousand coins," Wario said, still surprised. "Better than just five-thousand." McHallyboo then faced Luvbi and Yoshi, raising his hand in the air.

"Wario and Vivian had to face a series of duels against Piantissimo," the host started, as the two of them listened carefully. "In the first game, Wario went against Piantissimo in a boxing maze to get a final flag. In the second game, Vivian went against Piantissimo in an underwater challenge to get a glow stick. In the last game, they both went up together to battle Piantissimo in a race, using teamwork to utilize a race car in order to beat Piantissimo's speed. You must predict: how many of these duels had they successfully won?"

"Wow," said Yoshi, turning to Luvbi. "Ideas?"

"I would say that they completed the team work game," Luvbi considered. "And I also think at least one of them had succeeded in their individual game. They must have."

"Yeah, I agree," Yoshi said. "Otherwise, that'd be sad."

"True, right?" Luvbi said, looking certain. "It'd be hard to imagine that both of them had failed their duels against Piantissimo."

"Piantissimo is a tough guy," Yoshi commented.

"I know, but I'm sure the games weren't impossible," she said back, as Vivian and Wario looked nervous. Luvbi faced McHallyboo.

"Our prediction is that they were able to win two games in total," Luvbi answered. McHallyboo looked at a piece of paper that he was holding in his hand.

"I'm sorry, but that's wrong," he announced. "You do not win the five-thousand coins." Wario and Vivian both shuffled their feet at the loss.

"How many games did they win anyway?" Yoshi asked him.

"Only one," McHallyboo answered, "The teamwork game only."

Luvbi: _I expected at least one of them to have completed their individual duels. It seemed fishy that they both lost their own games, but when they had to work together, they succeeded. _

Yoshi: _Vivian, maybe I could understand why she failed her game, but Wario's game involved punching boxes. He had done worse in the 5 Become 1 mission._

"Well, this is the final result," the host said. "The Food Frenzies team had won 5,000 coins out of a possible 20,000 coins. On the other hand, Team Delfino Duels had won a total of 10,000 coins out of their 20,000 coins. So, for this mission combined, you have won 15,000 coins out of today's potential 40,000."

**Team Pot: **_189,000c_

Vivian: _It was like, six missions in one. This game was getting extremely tough and scary._

"Hmm, not too shabby," the host told them. "I expected better though: this _is_ the penultimate round of the game."

"The Mole did good," Wario only said, kicking at the ground. The players didn't look miserable, but they looked less happy than they usually did after the results of a mission were finally announced. After a little delay, they were brought back into their boat again, the same one they had used to travel to Delfino Square. But, not before eating lunch at the interesting location. However, their next location was going to be the most peculiar and mysterious of all, at a place with very little civilization and a treasure more sacred than anything before.

* * *

Yoshi: _Every time we play a mission, I always ask myself afterwards: Which person did the most damage? Who did the most odd and suspicious action during the mission?_

Vivian: _We exchanged stories, and during our telling, Luvbi was like hesitating at some parts when describing her missions. She could have been hiding some things. I'm not sure._

_Wario: __People like Vivian bother me, and are suspicious as well. It's like, every time I do something wrong in a mission, she tries to pinpoint me as suspicious. That itself is very fishy._

Luvbi: _As much as I trust one of the players here, I still have uncertainty in me, concerning him or her. Is it just natural? Perhaps it is, in a game like this._

* * *

**I wanted to cut the chapter a little short (I know, bad place to end a chapter, and NO CLIFF HANGER EITHER?)**

**Did the final "Delfino Duel" mission sound familiar? I got the idea from that very brief minigame in Mario Party 4, Mario Speedwagons. Childhood memories for the win! **

**But anyways, I (finally) have a new picture clue for all of you! As the game approaches its end, the pictures will become either more easy, or more cryptic. Or maybe both. Take a look at it!**

**I also wanted to update before the approaching era of midterms. Eww, midterms x.x Right? **

**Good luck all, and stay tuned all! **


	31. The Bay's Theater

**No, a long update! Different things have been killing my time! I couldn't wait for them to be over so I could update this as soon as possible, hehe.**

**Part 3! And surprises lay ahead in this section of the game! Consider this my gift for such a long period of none to deliver (I've had worse though, lol). Enjoy!**

* * *

_**Episode 7 (Part 3)**_

**_Previously on Saboteur's Island:_**

_"Well, this is the final result," the host said. "The Food Frenzies team had won 5,000 coins out of a possible 20,000 coins. On the other hand, Team Delfino Duels had won a total of 10,000 coins out of their 20,000 coins. So, for this mission combined, you have won 15,000 coins out of today's potential 40,000."_

Team Pot: 189,000c

_Vivian: It was like, six missions in one. This game was getting extremely tough and scary._

_"Hmm, not too shabby," the host told them. "I expected better though: this is the penultimate round of the game."_

_"The Mole did good," Wario only said, kicking at the ground. The players didn't look miserable, but they looked less happy than they usually did after the results of a mission were finally announced. After a little delay, they were brought back into their boat again, the same one they had used to travel to Delfino Square. But, not before eating lunch at the interesting location. However, their next location was going to be the most peculiar and mysterious of all, at a place with very little civilization and a treasure more sacred than anything before._

* * *

Their day was far from over. With nearly one-hundred and fifty thousand coins left in store to be added to the team pot, the players knew that their upcoming mission was going to be one of intense components and heavy value. But as they approached their next destination, they realized that the water below their boat was changing color. It was as if they were entering into some forbidden area of Isle Delfino as their small ferry entered into the realms of Noki bay.

"This is a...civilization?" Luvbi said, in full confusion as she looked around. "It's quite odd."

"And beautiful," Yoshi said in a hypnotized voice. He leaned out closer to see the bay's colors.

"The...water," Vivian gasped out loud, peering over the boat's edge . "It's slightly purple."

"That's a good color for you," McHallyboo laughed, then shook his head. " But it's not poisonous. It's rather natural this time of the year." Vivian looked less alarmed.

"Hmm, this place looks no different than the other places we've been to," Wario said, slightly yawning. He had just woken up from his cabin room, having been in the boat for over three hours. The players were relieved to see that there were numerous rocky lands within the area's terrain. The bay was mostly cliffs, and high above them, odd structures stood tall that either resembled shells or objects that looked similar in appearance to a shell. Metal "leaves" stuck out from the tower-looking structures: they resembled stepping platforms.

Wario: _The game is getting more difficult and difficult. I just have to keep myself above the surface of the game to finally win in the end._

"I'm getting a horrible, sinking feeling from this place," Wario said, not sounding well.

"You were just sleeping," Vivian pointed out. "Aren't you wide awake now?"

"Getting tired in a place like this would be bad," Luvbi thought to herself. "So much will happen."

"At least the smell is good," said Yoshi, remembering Ricco Harbor's terrible odor from three episodes back.

"I wonder what game we'll have to participate in when we land," Vivian said out loud. Their boat was now entering fully into the area of Noki Bay, traversing around random pedestals that littered the surface of the water.

"Maybe there's no mission here at all," thought Yoshi, smelling the air and looking at the others. "I think we're finally taking a break. A vacation!" Luvbi shook her head vigorously with amusement.

"We are here to play a mission, and that's all, really," Luvbi replied, eyeing McHallyboo as he jotted something down on a clipboard. "Where else have we gone that a mission was not played out?"

"Nowhere else at all," Wario realized. Luvbi looked at her journal, at a certain page: **Missions Played in Episode 7**.

As the boat carefully traversed its way through a maze of floating columns, they all saw ahead of them a small structure that gave them all more relief. Just ahead of them within the domain of Noki Bay was a small hut, at the edge of the rocky lands. A short figure was already within the hut, and the players could only guess that a Noki had found sanctuary in it before they had arrived. As the boat turned sideways, it stopped, as each player looked out a window to see a side of a cliff right before them.

"Yes, we're here," McHallyboo said, voice relaxed. "Everyone get off safely. The rocks can be wet. Don't slip." One by one the players stepped onto Noki Bay's territory; McHallyboo stepped off last, and with a small signal, the boat turned slightly, began its miniature engine once again, and traveled off. The players, backs facing the hut, stood in front of McHallyboo.

"Welcome to Noki Bay," said McHallyboo, reaching his hand outwards towards the openness of the land. "Though the population of this location is very small, various Nokis live here and call this bay their abode. The thing is, even though they've lived here for many years, there are still some places in this very bay that they hadn't yet discovered nor come upon." A small smile appeared on his face, one different than any he had ever given before. The players were mystified as the host retained it on his face.

"You could call this place...very mysterious," he said to them. McHallyboo shifted his eyes elsewhere, but not to look at the players. They saw that he was looking past them, at the hut, and as the players turned around slowly but curiously, they gasped.

"As mysterious as the Mole," came a voice from the hut. A figure emerged from the shade of the hut, stepping her way carefully onto the rocky and non-dusty terrain. Standing before them was Toadette, smiling brightly.

Yoshi: _All of a sudden we see the figure emerge that was in the hut, and wham! It's Toadette, Mole from season 1. But now, she's in the second season._

Luvbi: _I had predicted that we would see Toadette eventually, since we saw Luigi and Blooper already before. Even so, I was still surprised, no doubt._

"A pleasure to see you again, madam," McHallyboo said, as Toadette joyfully gave a hug to the host. She then faced the players.

"Wow, you're...the Mole," Vivian said, at a loss for words. The others laughed.

"Well, not anymore," Toadette said, chuckling. "But you can't forget the saying: once a Mole, always a Mole!"

"Unfortunately," Wario said suspiciously, "one of us will be following closely to that motto too." Toadette let out a small chuckle.

"I heard that you guys have had quite a travel up to this point," Toadette said, shuffling something in her coat pocket.

"Yes, and this is us," Yoshi said, standing tall and sounding prideful. "We're the final four of this game."

"And I must congratulate you for making it this far," Toadette said, impressed. "But soon, there will be just three. Only one winner of this game, who will rise finally as the victor. One final loser. And of course, the Mole." The four players shot each other glances.

"This game is challenging, and it's no east feat playing this game." Toadette looked down at the rocky ground, smiling.

"Even as the Mole, it wasn't an easy feat playing this game at all," she added.

"I could imagine that," Luvbi said to her, tossing her head. "It must have been a tiring job on your shoulders."

"And you would know that, how?" Wario piped up, glancing at Luvbi. Luvbi just shot a look back.

"Well, I'd like to get to the point of why I'm here today," said Toadette, "though I do enjoy talking to you guys a lot. I'm here to give you something from the past. Please take this. It will help you." She took a packaged envelope out of her coat pocket and handed it to Vivian. The players all saw a label on the envelope's outside in black marker: **THE MOLE'S EVIDENCE****.**

"Is this...a DVD?" Vivian guessed, holding the envelope carefully.

"Maybe," Toadette said, swirling her pigtails. "It's a little gift from me to you guys. Within this envelope is something very crucial. I think it is something that would help all of you very much."

"Well, we can't trust anything you give us," Wario said, jokingly.

"Help us on what?" Yoshi asked curious.

"It'll help you guys stay alive, " Toadette replied, her sentence holding the same quality of mysteriousness as her once-held occupation. She smiled, stepping back.

"Well, it's been a pleasure seeing you again, Ms. Rytoad," said McHallyboo, as Toadette gave a smile to the host.

"Thank you all, and good luck," she said, smiling at the players.

Vivian: _It was amazing to see the Mole from the first season. I thought Toadette was a really nice person, but it's almost impossible to imagine that no matter how nice you can be, you can still do the job of the Mole._

* * *

When McHallyboo came up to the players that night, it was at the time when people would usually be in bed already. Toadette was gone, and as empty as the location was, the bay still managed to give the players some comfort. The hut, which initially served as a boathouse for Noki Bay, was turned into an abode full of cushioned sleeping bags and pillows. The sign at the boathouse's front, "Dactyl Boating"**,** could have been replaced with a sign that was labeled, "Home Sweet Home", if the players had the time to do so.

"Dactyl boats, five coins?" read Wario, looking at the sign as they were exiting the hut. "What t he heck?"

"That raccoon boatman must be making a lot of money," Yoshi commented.

The four of them walked on, and they were brought away from their hut, to a remote part of the land, where they saw an assortment of objects that mystified them all and made their minds think more than ever before: lawn chairs, bags of popcorn, TV remotes, and even a coffee maker machine was seen sitting on the miniature rock land. Also on the small piece of land was another object that made the players wonder: a television.

"Oh...I fear," said Vivian.

Yoshi: _So, the place looked comfy, but at the same time intimidating. After all, it was in the middle of water on a tiny rock platform._

"Does this mission require us to sleep on this rock?" Wario said with disbelief in his voice. "No way am I doing that for the night." The rock terrain wasn't entirely small, but it was surrounded by water on all sides, planted a few feet adjacent to the regular land-walking sections of Noki Bay. Luvbi stepped onto the rock, carefully making sure she wouldn't get wet.

"I'm quite awfully tired," she said, sitting down on a lawn chair. McHallyboo shook his head.

"You are not allowed to sit on that, yet," the host explained, as Luvbi got up hesitantly.

"Like I said before, things will get more and more difficult the farther you get into this game," said the host. "Right now, it's the penultimate round. You should all be aware that this game will no longer be easy."

Vivian: _I've been strong in the game and have been playing to my best. But we all have a breaking point somewhere, and have to stop. I wonder what my breaking point is. _

"Welcome to the pre-game for your next mission," said McHallyboo. "Consider this a little...movie night."

"All right!" said Wario. "We get to watch a movie for this game?" Luvbi rolled her eyes.

Luvbi: _Nothing from now on was gonna be fun. It could look fun, but in the end, it isn't._

"The DVD," Vivian said in realization, looking directly at the television.

"As you may have remembered earlier today, the Mole had given you a gift," McHallyboo said to them. "Tonight, her present is what's important. Playing on this TV will be the first season of this game." The television immediately flashed on, its quality slightly blurry but never the less clear to all of them. A DVD menu was seen, and a title was present: **The Mole Season 1: Traitor Aboard.**

"Season 1?" Wario read.

"I knew it," Vivian said, over the soft DVD music that was playing from the screen.

"Are we gonna have to watch the whole thing?" Yoshi questioned.

"It's up to you," said McHallyboo, picking up a remote. "The footage to play will help you in a future mission. You may watch whatever you want tonight. It's your choice."

"No way, Jose!" said Yoshi. "Each episode is like an hour long. There's probably like nine or ten episodes in there. We'll be staying up till seven in the-"

"Like I said, it's your choice," the host said, going to the 'Chapter Select' menu. "And each episode is only fifty-six minutes long, don't worry."

"Fifty-six minutes?" Luvbi repeated. "Well, that saves times." She smiled sarcastically.

"You can choose to watch the whole thing, or not," said the host. "But let me just tell you that whatever will be displayed tonight will help you in tomorrow's mission."

"All right, well," said Wario, looking at the others, "It's not like we have anything else to do for tonight. I'm ready for this." His face turned serious, but cautious.

"Are you all ready?" he asked them.

"I don't know if I am," Vivian said, looking at the wire-framed lawn chair besides her.

"Oh, and one more thing," said the host, his foot semi-turned and on the urge of turning. "If you want to go to bed, you are free to head back to the hut. You are not permitted to sleep on this rock. Once you enter the hut, you cannot return here. How long can you stay up? Good luck." His eyes turned to the lawn chairs.

"But, you may sit on the lawn chairs for relaxation," he finished. Luvbi sat down on the chair behind her with a dissatisfied sound, as Wario moved his place up to a lawn chair as well.

"Happy watchings," the host said, trying to hide a small smile. "I'll be off to bed." As McHallyboo walked away, the four players were left alone.

Wario: _When the host tells us to do something, we oughta do it. I was determined to watch the whole thing, having no idea what was in store for us later._

"Well," Wario said, "Let's start this movie night. We can't waste time."

"Is everyone ready?" Luvbi said, looking at the others. As Yoshi just nodded and Vivian didn't respond, Wario just looked back at her. Luvbi picked up the remote, then with a deep breath, pressed the 'Play' button. A few second into the start, a voice began to sound from the television. Clear on the television's screen was the face of McHallyboo.

_"It has begun. Ten players. Nine are up to the challenge and playing by their own innocent strategies. Their goal is to win, to succeed in every challenge, and to be the one to be victorious at the very end. But one of them is the imposter. The cheat. The fraud. The saboteur. One of them is The Mole."_

* * *

**11:16 PM**

_ "This is the Cliff Springs. All of you must jump down into the water below, and of course, survive." _As soon as the game's first mission was on TV, the players' eyes had already adjusted to the screen's unusual brightness. They were watching intently, and it was only the first ten minutes.

Luvbi: _So...how long we were all going to stay up for?_

"So, we're all gonna survive for the night, right?" said Wario, turning to Vivian besides him. Vivian's face was mixed.

"I'm not sure, honestly," Vivian replied, turning to him. It was only the first ten minutes of the episode. "I think I might-"

"Shh, I'm listening," said Yoshi, putting popcorn into his mouth. Luvbi glared at him.

"You don't have to be such a snob," Luvbi said testily, grabbing her own bag of popcorn.

"I mean, we better all stay up," Wario pointed out. "We don't know what'll happen if we go to bed. This game is just a mystery." They all witnessed Blooper jumping from a cliff.

"Jumping from a cliff?" Yoshi said, pointing at the televison. "Pfft, come on! We jumped from an airplane!"

* * *

**11:52 PM**

_""You are the Mole's first victim, and you must leave immediately."_ A player of large size and bird-looking features was seen walking away from the game on the screen.

"The first execution," said Vivian, immediately being reminded of their game's first elimination ceremony.

"Wow, if we had the same number of players that the original season had," Wario pointed out, "we would be at the final episode already, right?"

"Your mind is working fully," said Luvbi, her eyes showing tiredness. "I can't even decipher a thing like such right now."

"Well," Wario remembered, looking back at the day and laughing. "I was already asleep before we arrived at Noki Bay. In the ferry, I took a nap beforehand. No wonder I'm so ready!"

"That would explain things a lot," Luvbi said, exasperated.

"Rawk Hawk went home first?" Yoshi said, looking at the end of the episode with angry eyes. "I was cheering for him!"

* * *

**12:25 AM**

_"Lakitu had been the one who persuaded Toadette into entering the bar with the clue, resulting in lost money for the group."_ McHallyboo was in the midst of giving the conclusion for the end of a mission in Episode 2. Toadette was shown, obviously upset and leaning against Peach, crying from the results of a recent mission.

"Crocodile tears," said Luvbi.

"Oh, come on," Yoshi said, rolling his eyes and spilling popcorn in the process. "At this point, it's so obvious Toadette is the Mole!" Vivian shook her head in disagreement.

"Maybe they felt sorry for her," Vivian considered, seeing Toadette wipe away tears, "so they didn't think it was her."

"The Mole needs a strategy, what-not, and stuff," said Wario, grabbing his own hand of popcorn. "Look at her. She's trying to get attention, while trying to look innocent."

"I guess that strategy didn't favor to you," Luvbi said to him, a sly smile on her face. "You're obviously not following it."

"Oh, just shush," Wario said back, with a glare. "You're distracting. Get back to to the TV."

* * *

**1:09 AM**

It was the third episode of the game. A hostage mission was being played as Blooper and Peach's voices were constantly being emitted from the TV. They were bickering amidst a baffling point in the intense mission, and the live players couldn't help but feel related to them: they were both confused and surrounded by an endless amount of water in the center of nowhere.

"Oh, that mission looks fun," Vivian said with thought, looking at the TV. "But scary."

"And very sabotag-y," Wario couldn't help but add. "This 'boat radar' mishap reminds me of a certain ear piece incident from our very own game." He looked as if he were thinking deeply.

"The glitched ear piece on the roller coaster?" Vivian spoke up. "Yeah...but now we know it wasn't Goombella's fault. It could have been anyone."

"Anyone here," said Wario with certainty. "Now we know that the person who messed up that ear piece is right in this group." Luvbi nodded.

"Wait, I'm still confused," Yoshi said, his voice having a hint of drowsiness. "If Doopliss thought Toadette was the Mole in the last episode...how did he get executed?"

"I can only assume they used editing and un-aired confessions to hide the truth," Luvbi assumed, and she gave out a slight yawn. She leaned back in her lawn chair more.

* * *

**1:59 AM**

"Smart..." said Luvbi. It was Episode 4 of the game, as the game's first mission was playing out.

"What's smart?" Vivian inquired.

"Toadette chose all the cruddy items to be put on sale," Luvbi pointed out, seeing Lakitu fail while attempting to sell a pair of shoes to an elderly Goomba. "She probably knew that the other two would have to sell those items."

"She's so small," said Yoshi, but he was not talking as much as he was before.

"She can be so devious," Wario commented, looking at the screen hard, "but remain so innocent."

* * *

**2:41 AM**

_"Don't be the one in the back, I warn you. If someone in front of you has been cut so much that he's bleeding, you wouldn't want to be face-down, crawling across their blood and smearing their blood all over the grass, would you?"_ The players were shocked, hearing the host speak such words while explaining the rules of a mission.

"Wow, McHallyboo...was different," Vivian said, eyes slightly wide. She looked at the others, but then looked concerned when she faced Yoshi besides her.

"Are you sleeping?" Wario said to him, facing Yoshi, whose head was snuggled up on the arm rest of the chair. Yoshi got up.

"No," he lied.

"If you're gonna sleep, then you can't stay here," said Wario. "Remember the rules? I'll bring you back to the hut."

"Come on, that's ridiculous," Yoshi said with a chuckle, but his chuckle was low on energy. When the others looked at him they saw that his eyes were red. Little lines were forming under his eyelids.

"You don't look well," Vivian said, looking worried. "You have to go to bed."

Vivian: _The scary thing was, none of us had been getting any sleep for the past few days. And with this game happening...we were going to drop out like flies soon. I had no idea how long I would stay up._

"If you're tired, you have to go back," Luvbi said. "McHallyboo did say something about not being allowed to sleep here. Which is pretty intimidating. If we fall asleep here, we might be penalized."

"So I have to go to bed?" Yoshi asked. Luvbi nodded.

"You want me to bring you, or are you okay?" Wario offered.

"I can...walk," Yoshi said, his voice low. He got up slowly and stepped off the rocky land and onto the side land of Noki Bay, where a path was readily available to the thatched hut. The others saw him walk, walk more, then walk again on two legs. Luvbi sighed with relief as she saw Yoshi get into the sleeping bags within the hut.

"Wimp," Wario snorted. "Now we have one less person to watch with us!"

"It's almost three in the morning," Vivian realized, her voice full of disbelief. "I can't believe we're up!"

"That's not bad at all," Wario said. "I've stayed up later before. And we have to do this, right?"

"Do we?" Luvbi said. "Maybe this is all a waste. A trick to make us all sleep deprived. For...tomorrow's mission."

"If we quit, we're like quitting an entire mission," Wario said.

"We still have four more episodes to go," Luvbi said, her voice showing despair. "This is absolutely mad."

"Well, at least he's okay," said Vivian, pointing after Yoshi who was already in the distance and going to sleep with comfort. It wouldn't be long until another player was to follow the same lead of quitting.

* * *

**3:07 AM**

"There's no coffee in the machine," Wario said, as Luvbi turned to Wario testily and strongly. Even so, her face still showed fatigue.

"I was just seeing what it's purpose was," she said to him.

"A coffee canister?" Wario said suspiciously. All of a sudden, Vivian let out a small sound. She was still facing the screen, as the other two looked at her. Her face seemed to be in a trance.

"What's wrong?" Luvbi said, concerned. Vivian shook her head, but her eyes were still on the screen

"I'm sorry, I...thought I saw something," she said, swallowing hard. "I thought I saw something flash for a second." Wario gave her a strange look.

"It's...late," Luvbi said, amidst a slight yawn. "We're all seeing things." On the television, the past players were having a touching family reunion. The players on the screen were full of life and energy, but the players watching were feeling the exact opposite: they were drained, and fading out.

* * *

**3:31 AM**

"Well, then," said Luvbi, her eyes turning away from the television screen. "I...I'm quite done."

"What do you mean?" said Wario. Episode 5 had just ended, and the introduction for Episode 6 was being played. But Luvbi had already gotten to her feet.

"When this pre-mission first started, I felt like already sleeping," Luvbi said. "Now...I really must rest. I'm leaving, but I'm sorry. I'm joining Yoshi."

"You're quitting," Wario said bluntly. "There's nothing else you're doing right now, except leaving this game!"

"You make it appear as if I'm committing a crime or something," Luvbi shot back, but with low energy. "Why do I get the blame?" Wario just turned back to the television.

"I'm blaming everyone but myself," Wario said, and even Vivian looked baffled. Luvbi's appearance looked once again tired.

"I am just going to sleep," said Luvbi, exhausted and worn out. "Adieu." She took one last look at the television, and then stepped away onto the side land of Noki Bay. Vivian looked after her as she reached the hut seconds later, entering into its sanctuary with Yoshi. Episode 6 on the television had begun, but there were only two players left watching.

"Well, I guess there's only the two of us left in this mini-game," said Vivian, sounding a bit nervous.

"Yeah," Wario said, looking slightly intimidated. "But now we know who the two strongest players are, right?" Vivian didn't know whether to shake her head or nod at Wario's statement.

* * *

**3:58 AM**

The penultimate episode was going slow. Dialogue was being spoken by the players, and the games on the screen were becoming more mental than physical. As Luigi was pondering how to put a certain piece of art into an exhibit, Wario and Vivian were slowly losing grip on being awake.

"It's almost...4 AM," said Vivian, looking at the mini alarm clock besides her chair. "We're all exhausted." She was not sitting in a chair, but on the ground instead, in fear of relaxing and sleeping in the process. Wario had one hand holding up his head, which lowered every few seconds. He grunted, bothered, and watched the TV intently.

* * *

**4:18 AM**

_"Early on in the game, you had all been nervous about being executed on the first few yearning rounds, but with open truth do I say that you've all lasted longer than the six others. So please commend yourselves, and if you are eliminated tonight here, may you feel no shame in leaving, but rather indecisive pride for making it this far in the game." _McHallyboo's words were loud and clear, but Vivian and Wario were barely paying attention.

"It's like...now," Wario said, mumbling and not bothering to sound loud.

"What?" said Vivian, her attention up once again, if only slightly.

"Just...nothing," said Wario. "But McHallyboo will be saying this, at this episode's end. Be prepared." Vivian nodded, understanding.

"I understand," said Vivian. It was close to 4:30 in the morning.

* * *

**4:54 AM**

Wario: _I was completely finished and drained. I wanted to stay up more so badly, but my body was giving out. I had to sleep._

"I'm going...to bed," said Wario with the heaviest yawn possible, lifting his head slowly and getting up from his chair. Vivian looked at him, slightly surprised.

"Are you sure?" she asked him.

"Yeah," said Wario, "and if you want to go to sleep too, then feel free to also. I don't want to hold you responsible for being here. You can choose to do whatever you want to do."

Wario: _I mean, I felt guilty leaving Vivian there. But I had no energy left._

"No," said Vivian, glancing at the alarm clock and sighing. "It's okay, don't worry. If you want to go, you can do. I was planning to stay to at least five." Wario nodded slowly, then stepped away from the land of the rock to the land of Noki Bay. His eye caught the hut in the distance, and as he stumbled to it slowly, the first drop of sunlight was already hitting the area. Wario made it to the hut, leaving the final player alone.

Vivian continued to watch, and at exactly **_5:08_** in the morning, she had made her way away from the television and back to the hut of Noki Bay. The final episode of Season 1 was still playing.

_"Hi guys"._ When Toadette revealed herself as the Mole on the television, no one was present.

* * *

The players had very little to travel, from the hut to a waiting breakfast table outside, and unsurprisingly, the breakfast meal had turned into a brunch meal: they all woke up near the same time of 10AM. A Noki with a chef hat greeted them, but the players were far too tired to feel lifted. Most of all, they were still baffled.

"Six hours of sleep," Yoshi mumbled to himself, as a Noki handed him a glass of melon juice. "I can't believe I only got six hours of sleep! That's like, unhealthy."

"What are you complaining about?" said Wario, angrily. "You went to bed first! I was still watching the DVD of that game, till maybe almost five o'clock in the morning! Or was it 6?"

"But I suppose you didn't stay up the longest," Luvbi commented, looking over at Vivian. Vivian looked up, then shook her head.

"Yeah, but..." she started, wiping her mouth with a napkin, "I was just as tired. I didn't really watch much after Wario left, I'm sorry."

"Really?" said Wario. "Tell me more. I really want to know what else was shown, since I couldn't bring myself to watch the final moments."

"How far into the DVD did you watch?" asked Yoshi.

"I guess like...it was the finale," she said, shrugging. "The final three were there. And they were in the middle of a large final mission, but I left."

"So I guess no one saw the true ending," Luvbi said quietly. Vivian stood up straight with alertness, looking at her.

"True ending?" Wario questioned, picking up his toast and looking right at her.

"Maybe there was something important at the end that we needed, for our future mission," Luvbi said, her voice speculating. "Like, what was the last word spoken on the entire DVD?"

"Do you think," said Yoshi, swallowing hard, "that we will be asked questions later on what we saw last night on the DVD?"

"Perhaps," said Luvbi, and they all thought. McHallyboo came shortly after, a clipboard in his hand and a cup of tea in his other hand.

"Well, you're all unusually tired this morning!" said the host, trying to act oblivious to the fact that half of them had stayed up till five in the morning the same day. He laughed, and the players didn't.

"Yesterday's mini-mission was a tool for you all," said McHallyboo, "and hopefully it will help you today. You have no idea in what way it will help, but I guarantee, something will come into play and you will immediately remember something like a flash." The players listened with curiosity at the host's words.

"Tonight, you will be playing your final mission of the episode," he continued. "The game will be called, "The Sacred Pot", and a lot of money will be at stake. It can all be won, or it can all be lost. There is no in between, and the results lie in the actions you take."

Vivian: _I was especially nervous for this final game. I didn't know what would happen and what would be in store for. It was all still a secret._

"Tell us more," said Yoshi, his interest heavy and leaning forwards to the host.

"I cannot explain the full mission until tonight," said McHallyboo, and he looked eager himself, "but, it does involve the existence of an unwanted intruder."

"An...intruder?" Wario said, looking confused. "What kind of intruder? Who is this?" The host shrugged.

"Just an intruder," said the host, "and that person will try to steal from you. Hence...the Sacred Pot."

Luvbi: _I have a feeling that this mission was going to be painful. But I'm sure it'll beat a night full of deprived sleep and stock footage._

* * *

**And the final mission before the final episode will commence! Whoa, talk about word repetition.**

**For the past 2 months I was cast into my high school's spring musical Into the Woods (for those who have seen my ridiculous Facebook posts x.x) and it seriously takes so much time from everything! But it's now over and all is good now! x) Now I can go from out of the woods (hahaha) and back to this epic world of sabotage vacation and the lovely world of the Mole! Only two episodes left...and it's almost done...**

**But not yet at all :) haha. One of these four are still the Mole, and their final mission of Episode 7 will begin soon! Keep your heads up! And stay tuned! **


	32. Caving in the Game

**Whooowie! Is everyone enjoying their spring break? Or had already enjoyed it? Personally, mine is coming to an end x.x ...but I promised to update this before it could! And I did! Well well. Take that, spring fever. Enjoy! **

* * *

**__****Episode 7 (Part 4)**

"Well, I assume our mission is to come later," Luvbi said, tossing her head, "instead of now." It was dinner time, and torches at the side of the boathouse dock blared in the cool and calm air. As waves gently splashed onto the rocky shore that served as their ground, the players ate and thought more. It was nighttime in Noki Bay.

Luvbi: _Even though we were all tired, I still found the place relaxing. I just felt the aura and knew it was a good one._

"At least we're having a full meal to eat," said Wario, already finishing up his main entrée on his plate. "Am I the only one not complaining? Come on now." Vivian just looked down at her appetizer, only halfway done.

"I'm just glad we get to relax now at a time like this," said Vivian, laying out her napkin in front of her.

"Well, I was able to get a very nice, three-hour nap within the hours of today," Luvbi said, sounding refined. The players had the opportunity to catch up on their rest for the entirety of the day, and by 8 P.M, all of them had gotten at least two or three extra hours of good sleep. At this point, they were mostly refreshed and less tired than they were supposed to be.

"Call me crazy when I say that this place has been the only location so far in where I was able to sleep in full peace and tranquility," Luvbi added.

"Noki Bay," said Yoshi, using his tongue to scoop out the inside of a scallop shell.

"What about Noki Bay?" Vivian asked.

"Don't you know?" said Yoshi, his voice getting excited. "This place holds some kind of magic! Like, magic you've never seen before. See that wall painting there?" He pointed to their right, and above them in the wall they all saw the imprint of a red-colored square, with an odd symbol boxed inside of it.

"That is odd," said Vivian quietly. "I wonder what it does, if you like, press it."

"They're all over this place," said Yoshi. He was holding a brochure that was labeled _Noki Bay: The Home of the Covered Creatures. _Wario peered closely at the cover page of the folded paper.

"Hmm, there seems to be a lot of secret openings in this land," he said, looking at the aerial shot of the land.

"Who knows," Yoshi said, putting down his drink. "It's crazy. I mean, I've been here before."

Wario: _WHAT?_

"You've...been here before?" Wario sputtered, almost spitting out his drink.

"Meh, I have," said Yoshi, shrugging. "But if you think that it given me an advantage, it hasn't. Everything is different now."

"You've been here before," Wario said, suspiciously, his eyes glaring at him.

"Well, to think that we've been to all these places," said Luvbi. "We're all in the same world." Yoshi nodded.

"Mostly just islands though," Vivian said.

"The game has seemed so short up till now," Luvbi said, finishing a last bite of food for herself. "And the idea defies rationale: we're heading to the final mission of this episode."

"Yeah, the host was SUCH a big help on telling us what our next mission would be, right?" Wario said sarcastically. "It only makes us more confused, what he told us all."

"Do you think the food is delicious?" Vivian asked suddenly, looking at Luvbi. Luvbi turned to her, an odd look on her face.

"Why, yes," Luvbi said, a little stunned.

"I'm just wondering. I agree," Vivian finished, looking back to her food. Wario shifted his eyes suspiciously.

"Well," Wario said slowly, then continued to eat his dessert.

"If Goombella was here, she'd know what those magic signs were," Yoshi continued, looking around. "Alas...it's just the four of us."

"I'm still floored on how Goombella couldn't make it to this round," Wario said, more mystified than ever. "She was so smart! I can only wonder...what tipped her off?" He shook his head heavily.

"Someone else, I suppose," Luvbi said. "But in the end, she made a bad choice. She was very close though."

"Yeah, she was," said Vivian, a little sad. "I'm just surprised that I'm here in this episode, and...she's not. It just doesn't make sense sometimes."

"Does anything in this game make sense?" Luvbi pondered. She lifted her glass, then paused for a moment suddenly. With confusion, she stared at the tablecloth in front of her. The water that spilled naturally from her cup during dinner had fallen onto the table and soaked little bits into the tablecloth, making it more transparent than it was supposed to be. She looked at what was in front of her.

"Words," she said immediately, lifting her tablecloth. "Look!"

"They're...they're here too!" Wario noticed, lifting his own side of the cloth.

"Wait! What are you...oh." Yoshi lifted his own side of the cloth, then Vivian followed after hesitantly. In front of them each, etched into the table, were two simple sentences, a clue that would help them all prepare for something that would be coming up in the future of their game:

_Stop the intruder. The danger is closer than you think._

* * *

It was approaching midnight. Their final game of the episode was minutes away from going into full action, and the players could only wait as the sky got darker, the large cliffs within Noki Bay's realms casting shadows everywhere within the sea-filled land. An hour before, the players were dressed up in their necessary gear: pads were on their shoulders, and present on the fronts and backs of their bodies were vests, strapped and fit to their bodies snugly. They were all given new shoes to wear: their new footwear looked like dress shoes in appearance, but in actuality, they could take the heaviest of stomps and still manage to maintain their shape. With heavy feet, the players trudged to where McHallyboo was standing.

Vivian: _We looked like we were in spy clothing. It was pretty intense. I was more nervous at that moment than I was at any other time throughout the entire day._

"Well...you've all made it," he announced. By means of climbing, crew help, and elevator usage, the players had made their way to the very top of the cliff that towered over most of Noki Bay. At the top, they discovered a grassy, tranquil looking area that surprised all of them. The host had his shoes planted into the floor, snug within the short strands of grass that stuck out from the ground. Besides him, an awkwardly-placed square-shaped hole was present, and the players could only guess where they were going next.

"Welcome to the beginning of your mission," said McHallyboo, looking at the players. "You are all wearing gear to help you become suited for this game. This game will be called, "The Sacred Pot", and you will all be playing the role of guards tonight." They all turned to each other, almost in unison and agreement.

"The game will begin at midnight and will end when the sun rises," said the host, as the players' faces showed amazement and disbelief.

Yoshi: _This was a joke. First, we stay up till 3 o'clock in the morning for a mini-mission. Then the next day, we play a game that ends until the sun rises! _

"This is what the mini-mission had prepared you all for: to stay alert for such an unusual amount of time. I know you can do it," McHallyboo told them all. "Your job will be to enter a secret cave, hidden within these cliffs of Noki Bay. There, a ceramic pot will be found, standing tall in the center of the room. It's your job to guard it, because in it, 10,000 coins are resting."

"10,000 coins?" Wario said, raising his eyebrow at the fact that their other missions had been worth tens of thousands of coins more.

"But what you don't know," continued McHallyboo, "is the fact that the pot itself is what's valuable. The cost of the pot is approximately 30,000 coins."

"Oh," Wario finished, sounding more pleased. The other players all listened carefully, more excited.

"There's only one catch," the host said. "At some point during the mission, an intruder will appear. Their job will be to break the pot, and if that happens, then most of your game is over."

"Why would they want to break the pot?" Luvbi asked.

"For many reasons," said McHallyboo. "But they only want to get to the ten thousand coins in the middle."

"I would just steal the pot itself," Yoshi said reasonably, chuckling. "It's worth more money."

"If the pot is broken, not only will 30,000 coins be lost, but the intruder can pocket as much money as they can before the time limit ends," said McHallyboo. "You see, the intruder will get to keep this money."

"So this game will be worth 40,000 coins," Vivian said, a little dread in her voice. McHallyboo nodded.

"However, there is a way to 'kill' the intruder in this game and stop them," said the host, but then he smiled. "But, you will have to figure out how to kill the intruder on your own. And remember, there is only ONE way to officially kill them."

"Typical," Wario said, grunting and frowning at the same time.

"Watch out," the host warned. "The intruder is a compulsive liar." McHallyboo looked at his wristwatch and saw the time of _11:56._ He nodded, then faced forwards to the square-shaped hole that lay ahead of them. With a head tilt, he motioned towards it.

"You will have to lower yourselves down there," he said, and the presence of the cables that sat next to the mysterious hole in the ground started to make a lot more sense.

Luvbi: _Climbing down that passage was one of the most terrifying moments of this entire game. It made me know that things were going to get more intense, especially in this game._

* * *

"Where...are we?" Vivian asked. The cave would have been pitch dark, if it weren't for the slits within the cave that exposed them to the regular, outside world of Noki Bay. The moon's light helped them to see around, and the more they walked, the more they saw that the area they were in wasn't as small as they had imagined it to be. At the same time, it was not as large as they wanted it to be either. As they lowered themselves to the floor, they saw that the place was more magnificent than they pictured it to be in the first place: the walls seemed paved and the floor had tiles.

"Look," Yoshi said, almost jumping. In the middle of the room, mounted upon a pentagon-shaped pedestal was a tall, vase-like object: it was the Sacred Pot, blue in color and larger than anything else in the room. As the players look around the room, they saw indents present within the walls, and in those indents, even more pots were present.

"It's like a small art gallery," said Vivian, looking around.

"But we can't dilly-dally here, we have to stay alert," said Wario, pointing to the pot in the middle of the room.

"Why?" asked Yoshi.

"Cause of the intruder," Wario said, looking around. Luvbi had looked around too, and was now staring at a yellow wall design on the left wall of the room. She looked at all the other walls that surrounded them, minus the cave opening, and frowned.

"I don't wish to touch and disturb," she said, "but that yellow wall design isn't on any of the other two walls."

"I don't want to touch anything either," said Vivian. "Who knows, something might pop up and make us lose the game."

"But, we should take chances," Yoshi suggested. "If we don't, then we'll get nowhere in this game, right?"

"And I agree one hundred percent," Wario announced, and he walked right up to the rocky wall. The other three backed away from him as he placed his hand on the wall design. Confused, he tried to push it down, and with little effort the switch was activated right away, as the yellow symbol sunk into the wall. A loud sound was heard from all around them, almost as if a rock was moving out of its place.

"See that!" Luvbi noticed, turning to the edge of the pentagon pedestal that the Sacred Pot was upon. A compartment had been revealed, hidden by a large tile, but now that the ground had opened up the players could see the numerous objects that were concealed away from them.

"It's a...clock?" said Wario, picking it up and handling it in his hands.

"This is weird," said Vivian, digging into a pile of blank papers that were hidden in the square-shaped hole. Also hidden in the slot was a ball-point pen, which Yoshi put into his pocket resourcefully.

"Hey, look what else I found!" Yoshi spotted, looking through the pile. Within the pile of papers was a small brochure, the title displaying: _Noki Bay's Sun Guide_.

"Noki Bay's Sun Guide?" Luvbi read. "What could this mean?"

"And a clock...oh," Vivian said, looking at the clock. She grabbed the brochure and began looking through it. The others looked confused, but Vivian kept flipping.

"What are you trying to do anyway?" Wario questioned.

"The two objects should be related," she assumed. "I mean, it's a clock, and then a sun guide..."

"I completely see," said Luvbi, smiling. She flipped through the pages of the packet, then stopped at a calendar page towards the end of the information packet.

"I found it!" said Yoshi, pointing to a date on the calendar.

"That's not today's date," Luvbi said, shaking her head. "It's been a day, remember?" She pointed to another date and time, then nodded: _4:07 AM._

"Four o' seven?" Vivian read. "Is that that time when the sun's going to rise?"

"That's what it says," said Luvbi. "Wario...what time is it now?" Wario lifted up the clock for all of them to see: **12:08**.

"It's 12:08," he read, shrugging. "We still have a long, long wait."

"Well, we have a little under four hours, and then we're done," Luvbi said. "So I guess we're not staying the WHOLE night."

"I guess that's a good thing," Vivian said, nodding.

"Not exactly," said Luvbi, and with a sigh, she sat down on the tiled floor, looking at the outside world through the exposed slits of the cave.

"I don't care what I do first, but I'm searching this cave," Wario announced. He attempted to reach an indent in the left wall, and within it, a yellow pot was being held.

"I'm going to relax for just a little bit," Luvbi said, looking at the outside breeze. "And if the intruder comes...we'll use our bare arms to fight them off. What else can we do?"

"Maybe there's a hidden clue in this brochure," Yoshi speculated, looking through the packet and sitting down. "Who knows? After all, it's the only thing we have in this room to look at."

"True, I agree." Vivian sat down too, but her eyes remained on the blue pot in the middle of the room.

"Well, at least we have fresh air," Luvbi said, smiling and facing her peer besides her.

"Yeah...this game isn't too bad," Vivian said, turning away from the pot and looking nervously outside as well.

* * *

**_SMASH!_**

Wario had tipped a pot over from one of the wall indents, making the other three jump. It was the third pot he had knocked over, and the players were getting more agitated. However, they were even more alert, all of them standing on the sides of the Sacred Pot. Except for Wario, who was doing his own individual mission.

"Maybe we could use those pots as weapons," Yoshi spoke up, turning to Wario.

"What for?" he said, trying to reach for a fourth one on the highest wall.

"What if the intruder comes and we have nothing to attack him with?" Yoshi thought.

"Then we'd just punch them," Wario replied, reaching higher.

"What if they're stronger than we think?" Yoshi spoke up. Wario stopped for a second, then continued reaching for the pot.

"I don't know," he said, reaching his hand out more, and lifting a foot.

"What if they have weapons with them?" Yoshi speculated.

"Like I said, I don't know," Wario said, almost losing his balance. He stepped onto a ledge that was sticking out from the wall.

"What if they-"

"WHAT IF? What if!" Wario exclaimed, turning to Yoshi. "Maybe if you were just a little more quiet, this game wouldn't be as annoying. It's only an hour into this game and I'm already annoyed by you. Come on." Yoshi faced him, stunned, while Wario lost his balance and fell to the floor. Luvbi shook her head, slowly.

"Look at you," she said, lifting her voice, but not her head. "You're the one who's not even dedicated to the purpose of this game. We're supposed to be protecting this pot, and you're getting us all agitated."

"By what?" said Wario, his voice heating up at the player. "Looking for something that might help our game?"

"By making noise," Luvbi said. "We should all...just be quiet."

"Why not try using a shoe to hit that high pot?" Vivian said curiously, looking up from the ground. Everyone turned to her, then up to the small pot on the ledge. Yoshi looked down at his shoes unwillingly, and so did Luvbi. Wario looked at his own feet, looking intent.

"Let's do this." Wario had already taken off one of his shoes, and with a small signal to the others, he lifted his arm back. The others scooted away as the shoe flew into the air, hitting the side of the pot and smashing right into its side. The shoe, along with pieces of small debris from the smashed pot, fell to the ground, but as the players looked into the indent, they saw nothing else but a shattered pot.

"Nothing," Yoshi said, kicking at some pottery bits on the ground. "I guess we just destroyed a good pot."

"Well, we tried," Luvbi sighed. But as she said that, Wario had already used his shoe to hit another pot on the third wall, high above their heads. As it shattered, everyone ducked immediately. The pot that had been hit was bigger than any of the pots before, and along with the falling shoe and pieces of ceramic, dark objects fell to the floor as well. Wario went up to them, and then laughed.

"I knew it!" he said. Inside the pot were guns, small in size and resembling real pistols. Each player picked one up for themselves, cautiously at first, then more comfortably.

"Guns?" commented Yoshi, eyes wide and looking at them. "This is the most random thing ever!"

"It's just a fake gun," Wario said, jokingly aiming one at Vivian.

"No! Don't do that!" she immediately cried. Wario's lowered his gun.

"Whoa, sorry," said Wario, then bent over to pick up a piece of paper that had dropped from the pot. He held it up for everyone to see: **To Kill The Intruder: Shoot the White Glow**.

"Shoot the...white glow?" Luvbi read. "What does that mean?" Yoshi faced the gun to the moon that was exposed to them, and pulled on the trigger. Nothing happened.

"Well, it was worth a shot," he said, then with a small chuckle said, "No pun intended." Luvbi pointed her pistol against the wall, then shot.

"Laser pointers," Luvbi assumed, then pointed her gun around as well. "This could be very interesting."

"I'm just...worried about what the intruder is going to do," said Vivian. "We never know what's-"

Suddenly, a loud sound rose up from all around them, as they all lost their balance. The ground was shaking, and when the players looked around to see what in the room was changing, they saw that the ground on all corners of the room were opening up. As circles were opened up in the tiled floor, it wasn't far until another rumbling sound was present, and this time, columns were protruding from the small, circle-shaped entryways that were formed in the floor. Though the room has not changed entirely, the presence of four marble columns within the cave made the players all stunned and baffled.

"What are they?" shouted Vivian.

"Probably old relics," Wario snorted. But all of a sudden, a loud voice was present. Echoing in the hollowness of the cave, the players had to cover their ears as it spoke to all of them.

"GREETINGS," it said. The voice was not distinguishable, and everyone present could tell that the person was using a device that modified their actual voice into a disguise.

"I AM THE INTRUDER. IN THREE HOURS TIME, I WILL COME AND ATTACK YOU FROM THE MOST UNEXPECTED PLACE. THE POT WILL BE MINE. YOU WILL TRY TO GUARD IT, BUT I WILL DESTROY IT, FOR MY OWN PERSONAL GAIN." The players were mystified from the voice surrounding them all.

"IT IS NOW 1 O'CLOCK. YOU HAVE THREE ATTEMPTS TO KILL ME. THE FIRST WAY TO KILL ME IS FOR ALL FOUR OF YOU TO STAND ON THE RISEN COLUMNS. BUT I WILL WATCH YOU FAIL. YOU HAVE A THIRTY SECOND TIME LIMIT BEFORE THE COLUMNS DISAPPEAR. GOOD LUCK." As the voice and its echo disappeared, the players faced each other.

"That is the most...speaking-awkward person I've ever heard," Yoshi said out loud, dumbfounded.

"Hurry, the columns!" Vivian shouted, going up to one. "We have to go!"

"Wait a minute," thought Luvbi. "This is clearly suspicious. We cannot trust this...voice?"

"Well, what else can we do?" said Wario, and he began walking to the column in the farthest corner of the room. "Everything is suspicious to you." Slowly but steadily, he walked up to the three-foot column and climbed upon it with ease, planting both his feet on its top face. With small hesitation but paced walking, the three other players walked up to a column each respectively.

"I'm not so sure about this..." said Yoshi uncertainly, placing a foot on one of the columns.

"Come on, just get on it!" Wario demanded. "We only have fifteen seconds!"

"Yeah, neither am I," Luvbi said defiantly. "I am not following the words of an intruder." But Vivian had already gotten onto her column, and placed both feet upon it.

"We have nothing else to try," Vivian said, shrugging. Closing his eyes, Yoshi climbed onto his own platform column, crouching down on it with fear. Luvbi, however, was the only one who didn't move.

"I am not following the words of an adversary," she concluded. Wario glared at her.

"Then how about-" Suddenly again, the rumbling came back. But this time, it was stronger than ever. As Luvbi fell to the ground, Vivian did too from her column, losing balance and falling to the ground. Yoshi and Wario looked below them, in terror.

"The columns are falling!" Vivian cried, looking up. "Jump off!" Yoshi did so with ease, and fell to the tiled floor. But as the three players looked up to see Wario's attempt, they witnessed that his feet were not moving.

"My...feet!" he cried, sounding panicked. "I can't get them off! It must be my shoes!"

"Get his shoes off!" Vivian cried. The columns were now rapidly descending, and Wario stood on top of the fourth one like an attached trophy glued tight to the column's top. Reaching his hands up into the air, Wario had disappeared by the time the other three players came to their senses and rushed over to him. Luvbi drew her hand back as the hole to the floor was automatically sealed up, closing it forever. She looked at the ground, in shock. The other two were panting, stunned, and scared as well.

"We...we need a plan," Luvbi said firmly.

* * *

"ONLY THE GULLIBLE ONES BELIEVED ME," the voiced boomed, coming on suddenly once again. "IT IS A SHAME I CAN ONLY TAKE ONE PLAYER EACH TIME DURING THESE THREE GAMES. I WILL SEE YOU AT 2 O' CLOCK." The three players looked up, then back at each other.

"So, why was Wario taken instead of...us?" Vivian asked.

"Because he was the first one to stand on a column," Luvbi reasoned. "It makes sense."

"Here," said Yoshi, and he laid out a small map he had drawn on the back of the brochure packet. He had sketched a layout of the cave room they were in, as Yoshi pointed to different spots. "There are six known entryways in this room that we now know of. Four of them are where the columns had protruded from." He circle the four holes on his map, as Luvbi and Vivian nodded. They formed the outline of a square.

"Fifth, the entrance that we had all entered from can be another possible entryway for the intruder to use." He pointed up above them, as they all looked at the hollow, dark passage that led up to open air. "We have to keep our eye up at the ceiling as well."

"And where's the sixth one?" Luvbi asked.

"The sixth possible entryway, of course, is this opening right here," said Yoshi, pointing behind them at the exposed slits of the cave. "In order to make sure the intruder won't come in undetected, we have to guard all six of these spots 24/7. We have to even out the guarding of these entryways proportionately."

"I'll take the ceiling opening and the two back columns," Luvbi said, standing up. "More officially, the pot's back."

"I'll take care of the open air exposure," Yoshi said, walking up to the end of the room. "And Vivian, the two other columns and the pot's front?" Vivian nodded, willing, as Yoshi smiled.

"Then we're set," Yoshi said triumphantly. "Let's do this." All three of them had settled to their appropriate areas and waited. Picking up their guns and taking a stance, they all stood attentively, pacing once every here and there. As time drew closer to two o'clock, the players became even more alert, but along with their increasing alertness, each of them couldn't help but feel a sense of growing fear inside themselves as well.

* * *

"Who do you think the intruder is?" Luvbi asked, breaking the air's silence. She lowered her head, resting her neck from staring up at the ceiling's hole too long.

"It could be anybody," Yoshi realized, still looking at the realm of Noki Bay. "Anyone could come in and smash this pot. Thirty-thousand coins...gone." Vivian just listened, sitting at the base of the pot and looking at it. In her hand, she twirled the paper with the mysterious message: **To Kill The Intruder: Shoot the White Glow**.

"White glow," Vivian whispered.

"What's if it's McHallyboo?" Luvbi asked, chuckling to herself. "I would be very amused."

"That earlier voice did sound like him," Vivian spoke up. "I thought it could have been him."

"Or," said Yoshi, turning to face both of them, "what if it's someone who we just saw the day before? Someone who we least expect? What if the intruder's no other than Toadette?" Vivian gasped, but Luvbi only laughed.

"Nonsense," said Luvbi. "She wouldn't be doing this mission."

"But," Yoshi said carefully, "did anybody see her leave the bay?" Vivian looked at Luvbi, who was looking up at the entrance above them.

"It's possible," she admitted. "But, frankly, I don't see the reason she would be back here, playing in this game."

"Maybe she misses her past adventures," Vivian said quietly, looking out at the bay's world.

"Regardless, I think we all better keep an eye out, for anything," Yoshi said, raising up his gun. "Because any second now..." He froze, looking at the only clock in the room that provided them with the time. It was 1:59 A.M.

"The second game," he said, and as soon as he said that, a familiar voice echoed into the room. It was the same voice that had haunted them before, but this time, less fuzzy. The players were bewildered at the fact that this time, the voice sounded just a tint more familiar to them.

"HELLO," it echoed, as the players were less taken back by the loud voice that went through the room. "YOUR SECOND GAME IS HERE. BUT LIKE LAST TIME, I WILL NOT TAKE ANY ACTION TO ELIMINATE. THIS WILL BE THE GAME FOR ONE OF YOU."

"What does that mean?" Vivian wondered. The players listened further.

"RIGHT OUTSIDE THIS CAVE IS A BOX. A BOX TO FREEDOM. A BOX THAT WILL HELP YOU SURVIVE EVEN MORE IN THIS GAME. A PLUS ONE." The players all stopped listening and faced the outside air of the room.

"FIND THIS BOX AND YOU WILL WIN. BUT BY DOING SO, YOU LEAVE THE OTHERS BEHIND. THERE IS A 1 MINUTE TIMER UNTIL THE PRIZE IS SEALED. GOOD LUCK." The voice disappeared, as Luvbi turned to the others, shaking her head.

"No one will go," she said, but Yoshi's stare of revelation caught her attention.

"A plus one?" Yoshi gasped.

"You will not go outside," she said, but the dinosaur's eyes were already facing out the room's only available opening. Vivian looked alarmed.

"But...it's a plus one," said Yoshi, his voice sounding urgent. "It's the final execution until the last episode. I have to make it there. I want to make it there!"

"We can all make it there...fairly!" Luvbi protested. "Just, don't do this. It's the intruder's way to eliminate another person, so they can easily access this room. If you do this, there's one less person on guard."

"And if I'm executed...this very moment will haunt me...forever," Yoshi said, and he took a step towards the cave's opening with a sorry look. "I'm...so sorry. But good luck." Luvbi's mouth opened, wanting to protest, but the player had already gone, stepping into the outer world and out of the game's territory. They heard a small splash outside, and both of them knew that Yoshi had landed in the water, unknowing of whether he had found the box or not. After a minute, the clock turned 2:01.

"Is he gone?" Vivian whispered.

"Yes...gone to fulfill his greed," Luvbi said, voice exasperated. "But what do you know? Once offered a prize, you get spoiled. He won a plus one last episode, and now he's a spoiled brat. He went after another." Vivian smiled at the term.

Vivian: _I didn't want to mention to Luvbi that she _herself_ had been going after many exemptions...especially in the past. But I didn't want to bring it up._

"The intruder can come any minute now," Luvbi said. "Now we have two less people to help guard this treasure now."

"I think we can do this," said Vivian, but her voice showed a large hint of dread and uncertainty.

* * *

Luvbi: _I was panicking in the inside, but I didn't want to show it. I had to keep Vivian and myself strong as we stayed there, alone and uncertain of what was going to happen next. And to make it worse, it was almost 3AM._

It was 2:55. Fifty-five minutes had passed since the mission's last major event, and Luvbi and Vivian had been guarding both sides of the pot endlessly, not knowing where the intruder would strike and how. Knowing that the next game was to begin in just five more minutes, they were now more awake than ever before. The two remaining players could only wait with half-opened eyes for the mission to be over. But before that, one last game of elimination would commence in the next few minutes to come.

"I'm...a little scared," Vivian admitted, looking unsure.

"Vivian, listen," said Luvbi, facing her urgently. "We both must, I repeat, must stay past this third game."

"What do you mean?" Vivian asked her.

"If one of us disappears in five minutes, it'll be up to the last person to defend for herself against the intruder," Luvbi pointed out, "and I do not think that will end well." Vivian nodded, tightening her grip on her laser gun. Luvbi pointed her gun up, hearing a sound from above her, from the passage that led to the grassy platform up on the clifftop.

"Who's that?" she said out loud, up into the air and into the hole above her head. "Who is it?"

"Is it the intruder?" Vivian asked, nervous.

"Guard the pot," Luvbi said, motioning for Vivian to move to another spot. She did, and Luvbi kept her gun aiming up. She covered her face as small collections of dirt and dust fell down into the cave room.

"There's someone up there, for sure," Luvbi said firmly. "I can almost see-"

"Look!" Pieces of paper started to fall from the vertical tunnel, and both Luvbi and Vivian stood back and watched the mysterious objects fall to the ground. Once they were settled, they approached the scattered arrangements of papers, picking them up one by one.

"What are these?" Luvbi asked. Just then, the thundering voice came on, louder than ever before. As it spoke, the two remaining players listened carefully. But Luvbi's eyes were wider than usual as the voice spoke, this time, a heavy amount less disguised than what it originally was.

"THIS IS THE THIRD GAME. ITS IDEA IS SIMPLE. ALL OF THESE PHOTOGRAPHS MATCH WITH EACH OTHER. NONE ARE DIFFERENT. TAKE YOUR ACTION WITH THE LONE PHOTOGRAPH. KEEP IT IN YOUR HANDS. 3 MINUTES, OR A MAGNET'S FORCE WILL HELP YOU PROCEED." The voice shut off, leaving the final two players more confused than ever. But Luvbi opened her eyes, processing the fast, cryptic message that was just spoken.

"Well...since the intruder said to keep it in your hands...we know that's a lie," said Luvbi, certain. "We must destroy the photograph that doesn't match. Like McHallyboo said, the intruder is a compulsive liar. We were supposed to do the opposite of what he or she was saying the entire time!"

"Are you sure?" Vivian asked, as they both looked at the pictures in their hands. "So we have to look for the photograph that's different?" After a few seconds and a quick scan, Luvbi shook her head.

"I don't get it at all," Luvbi said, defeated. "These...what are these?" As the two of them took the time to look through the photographs, they saw that the pictures had nothing of what they recognized. One picture was of a desert landscape, another of a seashell, and one picture even displayed a photograph of a Pianta eating an ice cream cone.

"There's...there's a clue somewhere," said Vivian. "There are twelve photographs."

"Where?" Luvbi shouted. "There's nothing we can see here!" Vivian covered her mouth, picking up a photograph.

"The intruder...I have a feeling he or she is gonna come down here soon," Luvbi said, sounding more defeated. "And there'll only be one of us left, to fend for ourself."

"Wait," said Vivian suddenly, and her eyes seemed to be in a trance. Kneeling down, she put the photograph in her hand down, but in its own separate pile.

"I recognize these." Luvbi looked at her, confused, as Vivian picked up a photograph and put it in the same separate pile.

"Vivian, where have you seen these?" Luvbi asked, mystified.

"Flashes...on the TV," Vivian said, shaking her head in disbelief. "I can see them, almost clearly in my mind. It makes no sense, but I see them!" As Vivian picked up another picture, Luvbi stopped her. Looking closer at it, Luvbi grabbed it into her own hand, then gasped.

"A desert landscape...yes," Luvbi said, swallowing slowly. "I remember seeing this too." Vivian grabbed the remaining photos into a pile, and with scanning eyes, began putting down the photos on the floor one by one. On each picture, Luvbi and Vivian did an examination before putting it down, either acknowledging recognition of its contents or unfamiliarity. After three reviews through the entire pile, they realized one thing: one of the pictures did not belong.

"The...pistol?" Luvbi said with perplexity, as the ground shook. All of a sudden, a wooshing sound was heard, as Luvbi cried out. The sound in the cave echoed greater than ever before, as the two of them realized with dread that something else was happening in the room.

"I'm...I'm being pulled somewhere!" Luvbi cried, and Vivian saw that Luvbi's vest was being pulled by an invisible force. Shocked, Vivian grabbed onto her vest, pulling back against the force that was part of their game.

"Rip the photo!" Vivian cried. Luvbi closed her eyes and ripped the photograph of the pistol right in half, straight through the center, turning it into nothing more than two scraps of paper. The rumbling in the room seemed to stop, and Luvbi's body fell to the ground, as she looked around the cave room with awareness. In the corner of the room, they all saw the clock: 3:04.

"It's...gone," Vivian said, a look of disbelief on her face. "I guess you're not going anywhere." Luvbi smiled, sighing with heavy relief.

"That was close," Luvbi said, shaking her head and clearing her mind. "I can't believe we were able to do such a task...to think subliminal flashes could get recorded like that into our minds. Now the game is almost over." She looked at Vivian, but Vivian didn't look back at her. Her body was facing the air of Noki Bay, towards the cave's slits.

"Yes, it is" Vivian replied. " The game _is_ almost over."

"Well," Luvbi began, a look of hope on her face, "At least there'll be the two of us left to fight this intruder."

"No," said Vivian, and she turned around to face Luvbi with a sorry look. "Just you." As she turned around, Luvbi saw the front of Vivian's vest gear, and she froze in place. Her eyes were looking directly at what was being emitted from the center of Vivian's vest, and as Vivian only looked at the pot with determination, Luvbi gasped.

A white light was glowing.

* * *

**! So a twist ending for this episode's penultimate part! :o Weird, right? But don't worry, the next part will explain a lot more. And lo and behold, the episode as a whole is soon to end!**

**Which player will be going home before the final episode? It's up to you to speculate. ********And who is the Mole? What new clues and suspicious acts have you picked up on that points to the Mole's identity?**

**Stay tuned for the next chapter's conclusion of Episode 7! The final execution awaits, and from there, the final three will be finally decided.**

**Stay tuned! ;)**

**Oh, and hehe. Your final, Final Destination clue is below.**

**YT**iOczCbgKPkw


	33. Three Alive

** And to the final part we go! The mission finishes up, and the last decisions are made.**

* * *

_**Episode 7 (Final Part)**_

As the white light continued to glow, Luvbi looked with panic at the gun, not in her hands anymore but on the tiled ground, away from her reach. Vivian just continued to look to the ground, as Luvbi faced her peer with a sigh.

"Whatever it is, explain it now," Luvbi said, her face serious. "And if you're going to do anything right now, then do it now. I won't wait."

"No," said Vivian, her voice showing objection and being weary at the same time. "I mean...no. I don't want to do this."

"Do what?" Luvbi questioned. But as she turned around, she saw that Vivian was looking at the blue pot behind her. Luvbi slowly backed away.

"You're the intruder, aren't you?" Luvbi said with confirmation, as Vivian slowly nodded.

* * *

_ "It's okay, don't worry. If you want to go, you can go. I was planning to stay to at least five." _

_As Vivian looked at Wario with confirmation, Wario nodded, stood up and left his place on the rock. The television continued to play as Wario made his way to the only abode within Noki Bay, and as he slowly made his way into the hut, Vivian was left alone. She sighed, looking around, then focusing her attention back to the television that was playing footage of the Mole's Season 1. Suddenly, she heard the noise of a small splash behind her, then a light footstep, as she turned around immediately._

_"McHally...?" The host put a finger up to her mouth._

_"Be quiet," he said, looking behind him. "You don't want the others to wake up and know your secret role in tomorrow's mission." Vivian's eyes widened, as McHallyboo pulled out a sheet of paper from his pocked. The title at the top read, _"**Sacred Pot Mission: Full Mission Rules"_._**

_ "An intruder will be present in your next game tomorrow," the host explained. "Being the last one to go to sleep tonight, you have been granted that role as the intruder. The intruder's job will be to destroy the Sacred Pot."_

_"The sacred...pot?" Vivian asked._

_"Everything will make sense tomorrow," said McHallyboo, then gave the paper to Vivian, "and also when you read this. If you break the pot, there will be consequences and money will be lost. But you will win this game's final exemption into Episode 8. You will automatically be one of the final three players of this game." Vivian gasped, shaking her head slightly and looking at the paper in her hand._

_ "It's up to you," said the host. "And remember, don't tell anyone who you are until the game is about to end." From his other hand, the host displayed a large cassette-like object, and put it on the rocky ground._

_"But for now," said the host, holding up a microphone for Vivian to grab, "I need you to record a few messages. Remember: you are the intruder."_

* * *

Hearing Vivian's explanation, Luvbi was too stunned to grab the gun on the floor besides her, as she just stood, still looking at Vivian.

"You were the intruder this whole time?" Luvbi questioned with disbelief. Vivian only nodded to her.

"I knew there was something unfamiliar with you at dinner...I could sense it so clearly," Luvbi said, shaking her head with realization.

"And you recognized that voice too, right?" Vivian spoke up, as Luvbi remembered why the voice that spoke throughout the cave room sounded so familiar. Luvbi almost smiled.

"I think you got us," Luvbi said, shaking her head and sounding defeated. "But I won't go down without a fight." Snapping to her senses, Luvbi ducked and slid to the laser gun on the tile besides her, as she grabbed it into her hands.

"No, wait!" said Vivian, putting her hands in the air. "I never told you what I would do. And I'm making that decision now. And that decision is...I don't want the final exemption." Luvbi stood up slowly, shocked, not pointing her pistol up at Vivian. She looked at her.

"You...don't?" Luvbi said, her face perplexed.

"No," said Vivian, facing away from both Luvbi and the pot. "The thing is, this won't help me win the game. Exemptions shouldn't even be allowed in this game, even since the beginning. I mean, it's a device that we use in order to cheat our way to the next round. But I don't think that's right. And especially now..." She looked back at Luvbi, shaking her head fully.

"I'm not taking something away that we've both worked together on," Vivian concluded. Luvbi just stood where she was, amazed.

"And I agree," Luvbi said, her voice sounding new and certain. "I respect your choice. I admire it, really."

"You do?" said Vivian.

"Especially on that last puzzle," Luvbi added, looking at the photographs scattered on the ground. "You worked on it. You earned it, and now, it's going into the pot." Vivian stepped up to Luvbi, then with a sigh, nodded.

"All right," said Vivian, looking forwards.

"Are you sure?" Luvbi asked, slowly raising her gun.

"Yes," Vivian said, and as she closed her eyes, Luvbi aimed her gun at the white glowing light protruding from her vest. As the gun was fired, the game was over, but both of them felt a new sense of accomplishment.

* * *

The sun had risen. As the sea was hit by the sun's constant glistening, it seemed to reflect to different parts of the bay, shining light everywhere and making it look like it was already fully daytime. The host was awake, even at the time of 5:30 AM, and the players were too. Though they were all constantly rubbing their eyes and getting adjusted to the sun, they were awake enough, filled with both tiredness and satisfaction.

Luvbi: _The view was really beautiful. I couldn't help but feel like this episode had ended much better than it could have._

"The sun rises just in time for the results of this game to be announced," said the host, the sun shining on his face as well. "Congratulations: this mission had been a success."

"Real success?" Yoshi asked, looking a bit happier.

"Well...you did win a lot of money." McHallyboo turned to Vivian and motioned a hand to her.

"As we all know, Vivian was the intruder," the host said, as Vivian smiled slightly and looked to the ground. "If she were to break the pot after the third game had been played, she would have won an exemption. Three games were designed to get rid of the guards. In the first game, Wario, you were taken away, following the intruder's instructions on what to do."

"I actually believed that no-good voice," he said, grumbling at his early loss in the game. "I can hardly be blamed." He glared at Vivian, but in a jokingly manner.

Yoshi: _I think Wario could have survived longer. Him dying early just shows how gullible he is. It might have been sabotage, but it also shows that he's more of a weaker player than I thought. _

"But, it was my fault," concluded Wario.

"In the second game, the voice bribed someone to leave the game in exchange for a +1," said the host, who turned to Yoshi. "But it was a fake. Yoshi did not win anything when he left." The other three players laughed, this being news to them. Yoshi looked at the ground with slight shame.

"I was close," Yoshi said truthfully.

Luvbi: _Not only did Vivian not get her exemption, but Yoshi didn't get his +1 either. As selfish as this might sound, I just stepped one move closer to passing this round._

"In the third game, Luvbi was saved, and it was only up to her to save the money from the intruder," the host concluded, and once again he turned over to Vivian. "But Vivian...what did you do?" Vivian faced the host, then turned to the other players.

"I couldn't take it," Vivian said, shaking her head. "It was hard making the choice I made, but I could never see myself being that greedy. And, well, we worked together. And I think you all did a great job in this mission."

"You did too," Luvbi said, folding her arms with a small smile.

Wario: _Vivian didn't take the final exemption? I'm just shocked. Now, she could be going home before the final episode and lose pretty much everything so far. I would have taken it, not ashamed to say it. That move of hers...is it suspicious? I thought so._

"With that final sacrifice, your pot value rises more than it ever did before," announced McHallyboo. "An award of 40,000 coins is added to the team pot! Successful game indeed. Your team pot total now stands at a total of 230,000 coins at the end of this episode."

**TOTAL POT VALUE**

_230,000 COINS_

Yoshi: _Whoa. 230,000 coins? Never before was the pot this high, ever. All of a sudden everything got intense, and I wanted to play more._

Vivian: _Just thinking of how much money is in the team pot...I get goosebumps. I'm really happy I made that extra bump to it though for all of us._

"Hey, hold it," Wario said, speaking up when he noticed something. "Didn't we have only 189,000 coins since the end of the Delfino Duels missions? Where'd that extra one thousand coins come from?" The host turned to him, surprised at his remembering.

"Well, consider that extra money added from...the very first mission of the game," the host concluded, giving off a wink. "A whole-number value from the pot sounds better than an off-value one. And after all, that mission was a failure." The players winced at their memory of their very first game.

"Well, we've improved a lot since then," Luvbi stated.

"Indeed, a whole, whole lot since then," said the host, a big smile on his face that shone brilliantly as the sun in front of him rose even more.

* * *

Night passed, and it was the next day on Noki Bay when the players woke up again. Feeling an odd sensation of jet lag the day after their episode's final mission, they all knew that someone was going home. Someone would be leaving their game right before the final episode. Someone wouldn't be strong enough. Someone would be, once again, a victim of the Mole.

"The Mole, I mean, I'm pretty sure I know who it is," Yoshi said, but his voice still showed uncertainty as he looked into his journal. "Though there are still those voices. They tire me out. I can't even keep an opinion." Wario was lying on a lawn chair, journal over his face.

"This game is really, really tiring and sometimes I want to give up," Wario spoke. "I know I've made it here, but will I win this game in the end? Hah." He was shielding his eyes from the sun successfully.

"If you give up, you have no motive," said Yoshi, standing up from the hut's edge platform. "We strive to win by having incentive."

"Yeah, but you know what?" Wario said to him. "Half the time, I don't even know what I'm doing in this game."

Wario: _This game has just brought me to the max of my level. I didn't even think I'd make it this far, but now that I have, I have to suffer the final moments of this game._

"It's hard to know what I'm doing sometimes," Yoshi realized, "but sometimes, I feel like I'm following the right direction. Don't you?"

"How do you know what you're doing when you're not even 100 percent sure who the Mole is?" Wario said, taking the journal off his face. "Huh? Do you think you'll win this game?"

Yoshi: _Will I win this game? Will it come to an end where I lose? These questions, I couldn't answer for yourself. But I wish I could. _

"I do," said Yoshi, sounding confident, "because everyone has a chance and I do too. You do also." Wario looked at him and sat backwards with contemplation.

"I think you shouldn't count your chickens before they hatch," Wario said, almost in a mumble, "and I'm saying that for myself too." Yoshi just mumbled, sitting back down on the hut's edge.

Wario: _Winning this game...I think to myself, and I rarely think, what will it take for a player?_

* * *

"I've been playing this game really cruel, have I not?" said Luvbi, waving her legs in the water as she and Vivian were sitting at the edge of a rocky ground, far from the bay's center. It was midday, and the sun wasn't hot at all. The two of them were away from their male peers, and even though they were talking with each other, surprisingly, none of them were holding journals.

"No, that's not true!" Vivian said, but Luvbi gave a look at her that made Vivian be quiet.

"Trust me, I have on occasion," said Luvbi, "and I won't let that get in the way of being a proper person."

"In this game, I think you can take any identity you want," Vivian said, trying to sound and feel positive. "And plus, I don't think you've been playing so bad." Luvbi nodded, giving Vivian a small smile.

Luvbi: _Well, Vivian is definitely a good person. Me? Just not in this game._

"When I looked back at the people who have been executed so far," said Vivian, looking into the horizon without realizing it, "I feel like as if I took their spot. I moved on while they didn't. I don't want to say I'm responsible for their-"

"Responsible for them executing themselves?" Luvbi said, shaking her head. "No. You made it here on your own and that's the reason why you are here. I know you're not the Mole, and I'm sure the reason you're here today is because you've been your intelligent self." Vivian smiled, wanting to say 'thank you' to Luvbi. But she simply continued to look more into the horizon ahead of them.

Vivian: _Luvbi has been such a great help, but in the end, I realize I'm alone. I don't want to be alone. But sometimes, I realized, you just have to take those steps by yourself._

"The final execution," Vivian whispered. Luvbi nodded.

"Good luck tonight," Luvbi said, her voice sincere.

* * *

The different thing about dinner that night was that the host was fully present with the players as they ate. In addition to that, the table they were eating at was one larger than the one they had before: their old one with four sides was replaced, gone forever.

"Soon, there will no longer be the four of you," the host said, resting his elbows on the table. "I'd like to remind you all that the game's final execution ceremony will take place tonight." Everyone nodded, showing as little nervousness as they could. But the host could see it in all of them.

"May the final victim go home feeling as satisfied as ever," the host reassured.

"Thanks, McHallyboo," said Wario, biting into a drumstick. "Thanks for wishing me good wills." Everyone laughed.

"At least the executed person won't have to suffer the stress of the final episode, right?" Yoshi said, laughing.

"You're getting a little too optimistic there," Luvbi said, taking a sip off water. "They will of course, feel remorse."

"I'm just saying," Yoshi said with a frown.

"Vivian, we all know that you threw away an exemption last night that you could have easily won, all for the sake of the team," the host said, looking at her. "How would you feel if you were executed tonight?" Vivian looked troubled, but then looked at the other players, her face looking sure.

"I did the right thing," she said. "I'd feel sad, but more happy than sad in the end. So I would be okay." Wario shook his head and continued eating.

"This quiz will be fifteen questions tonight," said the host, as the players looked at McHallyboo more intently. "You will be quizzed primarily on this episode, but do not be surprised if there are questioned based on past information as well. However, at this stage, I'm sure that your choices are rather selected already. It's up to you to score well." He paused, then pointed elsewhere.

"After dinner, you will one by one go there." He pointed to an isolated table, far from their spot and situated right on a rocky location in the realm of their bay. There, they saw a laptop and a chair: their quiz.

"Good luck, all of you," said the host, as the players could only stare into the distance at the device which held their fate.

* * *

Luvbi stepped her way carefully to the isolated laptop. She was the first to begin the quiz, and taking a deep breath, she sat down.

**_1. The Mole is:_**

**_-Male_**

**_-Female_**

Luvbi: _How many times has my opinion on the Mole changed? Just a few. And now I had to be certain. It was the penultimate episode._

**_2. Who was the Mole paired up with during the Delfino Duels mission?_**

**_-Yoshi_**

**_-Luvbi_**

**_-Vivian_**

**_-Wario_**

Yoshi: _This game is about making choices. If you make a wrong one, you're done. But if you make a right one, you go on in this game._

**_3. Out of the three main games the Mole's team played, how many did they succeed in?_**

**_-One _**

**_-Two_**

**_-Three _**

**_-None_**

Wario: _So Vivian placed herself in the physical-prone mission of our first game this episode. That was extremely suspicious, because she chose to go with the item of the boxing glove over the other item. She probably knew she would be forced into physical games by that one selection._

**_4. Did the Mole's team succeed in guessing how many games their peers had won for the final part of the Delfino Duels mission?_**

**_-Yes_**

**_-No_**

Vivian: _I don't think Luvbi meant to guess wrong when she guessed at the end of Delfino Duels. I was more suspicious of Yoshi when he agreed with her. He agrees a lot with the wrong answers in our past few missions, losing team money._

_** 5. When the boat arrived in Noki Bay, when did the Mole get off?**_

**_-First _**

**_-Second _**

**_-Third _**

**_-Fourth_**

Yoshi: _A lot of the time during the free time in our games, Wario is always doing something different from the rest of us. In the boat to Noki Bay, while the rest of us were walking about, Wario had been the only one sleeping in his quarters. Maybe secret planning? It's always hidden._

**_6. During the mini-mission, did the Mole sit in a lawn chair in the first ten minutes of showing?_**

**_-Yes_**

**_-No_**

Wario: _Luvbi loves stirring up trouble, and I saw how when she left the mini-mission movie night, she made it look as if it wasn't her fault. She's good with words. She could easily be the Mole, and I might even start watching her._

Luvbi: _Like I said before, Wario sleeping in the boat on the way to Noki Bay and us having a mission that involved staying awake later that day...some things just can't be a coincidence. Maybe Wario planned to take the exemption role, but was beat in the act of staying up by Vivian._

_**7. During which of these episodes did the Mole leave to sleep during the bay movie night?**_

_**-During Episodes 1 to 3**_

_**-Episode 4 **_

_**-Episode 5 **_

_**-Episode 6 **_

_**-Episode 7 **_

Yoshi: _Perhaps Vivian wanted to go to bed the latest. Maybe she knew that the last person to go to sleep would be offered an exemption, and so she stayed up the longest. Because you never see Vivian outlasting everyone else when it comes to sleep, so she probably had incentive._

Wario: _Yoshi was the first one to go to bed during the movie mission, which made me both disappointed and suspicious. Being the person he is, I would have expected him to stay until the very end, so that stuck out as suspicious._

Luvbi: _I've trusted Vivian to this point. There's no reason I shouldn't trust her now. But, I wish I could be at that full state of certainty._

**_8. In what order did the Mole lift to find the secret message at the dinner table of Night 2?_**

**_-First _**

**_-Second _**

**_-Third _**

**_-Fourth_**

Vivian: _It was very odd how Luvbi noticed the message under our tablecloth that night. It was almost as if she was planned to reveal it. I'm not sure, but that action seemed Mole-like. She does do a lot of Mole-like actions in the game._

**_9. During which game was the Mole removed in during The Sacred Pot?_**

**_-The Columns_**

**_-The Bribe _**

**_-The Memory_**

Luvbi: _In the end, Yoshi didn't have to leave us to get the +1. Because he did so, we had one less person left and Vivian might have been tempted to steal the exemption even more._

_**10. When did the Mole enter into the caved room for The Sacred Pot?**_

_**-First**_

_**-Second**_

_**-Third**_

_**-Fourth**_

Yoshi: _It's hard to know what Vivian's true intention in the game was for the Sacred Pot. Was she, in the beginning, determined to rid everybody and win the exemption for her own? Nobody will really know except for her. Vivian...could be the Mole. _

**_11. During The Sacred Pot, did the Mole ever press down on the trigger of their gun?_**

**_-Yes _**

**_-No_**

Vivian: _It's so weird that Wario knew where the guns were located during the Sacred Pot mission. His only aim was to break the pots, and before we knew it, the gun were inside there. _

_**12. Which journal number does the Mole have? **_

_**-Journal 3**_

_**-Journal 5**_

_**-Journal 6**_

_**-Journal 10**_

Luvbi: _I've written so much in my journal that it's a crazy mess, but with no doubt has it helped me so much. Every piece of information is in that book. When I looked at Wario's journal, there wasn't much in there. A regular player wouldn't do that. Is he the Mole, or just a competitor?_

**_13. At the end of the previous execution, was the Mole's name entered into the computer?_**

**_-Yes _**

**_-No_**

Wario: ___This is the final execution ceremony. I could be executed. And the game would be over for me. Completely over._

Vivian: _I really went a far way into this game, but even with that, I'm scared. But I can accept being executed if it's me._

**_14. In which of these months was the Mole born?_**

**_-January - March _**

**_-April - June _**

**_-July - September _**

**_-October -December_**

Yoshi:_ I don't have a plus one, but I'm not going to lose this game either. I won't, not at this round. I have to survive. _

Luvbi: _I am certain that the Mole's identity is clear in my mind. And this is the moment of truth. Who is the strongest?_

**_15. Who is the Mole?_**

**_-Vivian_**

**_-Luvbi_**

**_-Wario_**

**_-Yoshi _**

* * *

With the inside of the hut completely cleared except for four chairs, a desk, and an all-familiar screen, the location was set for yet another execution. But for this, it would be the last time where a green screen would ever secure safety for a player, and the last time a red screen would acknowledge the loss of another. Since it was the execution before the final episode of the game, all was tense and all was set. The players entered the small structure one by one.

McHallyboo was standing in the hut, in the same exact place where the first Mole had been standing when they first arrived at Noki bay. When the players entered the hut one by one, their bags were dropped to the side, luckily on dry ground as their belongings were lined up in preparation for the ceremony. The host had on the same expression he always held on his face every time a player was scheduled to leave within the next ten minutes, but this time, it held a hint of more pressure and anxiousness than it usually did.

The sea was quiet when the host began to speak.

"Hello players, and welcome to your final execution," McHallyboo said, his voice clear. "This episode has been an intense one, and now, the episode will officially end. One of you will be leaving us tonight as the Mole's seventh victim. There are four of you now, and soon, there will only be three. However, I congratulate you all very much for making it this far." The four of them looked at the host, all nodding slightly.

"I will enter your names one by one into the computer," said the host, as the players watched him step slightly closer to the keyboard and desk sitting besides the screen. "If a green screen appears, then you are safe, and you will make it into the final episode of this game. However, if a red screen appears, then you are the Mole's seventh victim and you must leave the game." As Luvbi only nodded with understanding, Wario gulped, but glared. Yoshi shifted in his seat nervously, as Vivian looked on with fear.

"Let's begin," said the host, and taking his seat into the chair besides him, he was ready to type.

"Vivian?" the host said, as the player looked up. She watched, biting her lip as her name was typed into the screen before her.

Vivian: _Throwing away the exemption...all of a sudden I had a sinking feeling. Maybe it did determine by downfall. It was my own action, and nobody else could be blamed. I was just so nervous._

**V-I-V-I-A-N**

Vivian put her hand to her mouth, completely frozen.

...

...

...

...

**GREEN**

"I...I did it," she said to herself. But McHallyboo didn't stop, as he went directly to the next name.

"Yoshi," said the host, as the player immediately sat up in his seat, his face more troubled than before. With bated breath, Yoshi's eyes looked at his name being typed into the screen. He closed his eyes.

Yoshi: _I didn't want to lose here. I made it all the way here and I promised myself that if I could make it to the final episode, I would make it there. Just one more round...I needed this win._

**Y-O-S-H-I**

**...**

...

...

...

**GREEN**

"Yes!" He lowered his head, still breathing heavily with tense feeling. At that point, two players had been declared safe, players for the final episode. Two players remained with untold fates.

"We will now go with Wario," said the host, as the player immediately covered his eyes.

"Oh no," Wario groaned silently, his voice and face holding heavy uncertainty. "Here it goes." Luvbi's face showed fear herself too, but remained motionless.

Wario: _It was the final name. The final goodbye. I was already telling myself that I would be eliminated, out of the Mole forever and would be going home. This was really the end._

**W-A-R-I-O**

**...**

**...**

**...**

**...**

**GREEN**

"No way." Vivian immediately looked stunned and Yoshi's mouth was agape, but Luvbi simply sat in her seat. She waited, until the host was ready to enter the final name into the computer screen. Five letters were entered into the computer, and the episode was over.

**L-U-V-B-I**

...

...

...

...

_**RED**_

"It has been the greatest of pleasures and privileges," said Luvbi, her voice sounding refined. She stood up, and following the host's lead, exited the hut and grabbed her bag. The three remaining players remained where they were, sitting in their seats, motionless and speechless. Finally, Wario talked, his face as stunned as ever.

"I'm...I'm safe?" he gasped, looking around the hut and at the other two. "I actually made it! I made it to the final episode!" He shook his head, his face amazed.

* * *

"McHallyboo, how gifted I was to be chosen for such a game," Luvbi said, as she smiled, taking proper steps as she followed next to the host.

"And we were very gifted to have you as a player, Luvbi," said the host truthfully, carrying her bag. "Thank you for joining us up until this final moment."

"Alas, I was one step away," Luvbi said to herself, but even when she said that, she was still smiling.

* * *

"Luvbi really taught me to stand up, ever since the beginning of the game," Vivian said, looking sad, but her voice showing that she was thankful. "She really did, and she helped me make it far in a big way."

_(during the Island Bash party advertising) **Vivian:** "Umm, if you, umm..." (Luvbi gives a wink and a nod to Vivian, which regains her confidence)_

"Luvbi, I mean," Yoshi began, starting to speak. "I don't even know where to start. She was smart, sly, always doing something smart and different from the rest of us. She was the most unique player here and I admired her till the end."

**_Luvbi:_** _ (in the 5 Become 1 mission) "One of us does have to be left behind. And it's you." (letting go off the box, knocking out Wario as Yoshi watches with amazement)_

"Yeah, well, she did have her controversial moments," Wario added, as the two others laughed. "But it just made her a better person. She played way better than me, and I'm not afraid to admit that."

_**McHallyboo:** "Well, congratulations to you, Luvbi, because you've officially won the first exemption of this game!" (nobody claps, but instead looks lividly at Luvbi)_

"The Bag challenge," Vivian said, remembering with a smile. "Ever since the beginning."

* * *

"Favorite part...what can I say?" said the mesmerized player, who recounted her memories. "The ship voyages? Jumping mushrooms? Stealing that very exemption from Diddy?" Both she and McHallyboo laughed at the last line, but Luvbi shook her head.

"No, my favorite part is now," she said, "because now, I can realize how much of an adventure I have experienced up till now." McHallyboo nodded, agreeing heavily as they continued to walk in the windy air and the rocky ground.

* * *

"Oh! Remember when she totally owned us in that Journal page mission?" Yoshi said, recounting another memory. "Nobody knew the answer, and out of nowhere, she tells it. That was funny."

_(At the Pianta Village's hot tub) **Luvbi:** "So this journal entry is Vivian's. Final answer." (the other players look at her, stunned and impressed)_

"Yeah, she just knew almost everything," Vivian said, thinking to herself. "Now I know how she made it so far."

"Not gonna lie, but...I thought she was the Mole at certain times," Wario chuckled, as the others smiled and laughed, then thought.

"The Mole," Yoshi said quietly, looking at the other two.

* * *

"Oh, I believe this is the end," Luvbi said, as the boat came into their view.

"Any last messages?" the host said her, grinning slightly with a shrug. Luvbi pondered for a second, then opened her mouth.

"Good luck...and you know who you are," Luvbi said, her face showing a quality of slyness that she had held so many times in the past three weeks.

When the boat approached the edge of the rock platform they were standing on, Luvbi grabbed her bag back from McHallyboo. The host and the player shared a hug, then separated. Luvbi was tired, but never the less felt successful in her own way as she sailed out of Noki Bay's realm and back to the normal world.

The last victim had gone.

* * *

Back in the hut, all was silent, as they knew that Luvbi's boat had gone off. The bay held just three players.

"Well..." said Wario, leaning back into his chair with a relaxed look, "I guess it's just the three of us left."

"Yep," said Yoshi, lifting his head. "One of us will win this game. Be the winner and claim the title. The money."

"One of us will lose," said Vivian, her face and voice both showing fear yet speculation. "And walk away with almost nothing."

"And one of you," said McHallyboo, his voice being heard by all of them as the host stepped back into the hut. Wario, Yoshi, and Vivian all turned to him, as the host finished his sentence.

"One of you is the Mole."

* * *

**And alas! Luvbi is gone. A player who played well, she marked her end of the game in Episode 7. The final execution ended.**

**And now you have the final three! But before that, let's see the results of last chapter's poll, "Who do you think will be the final winner of, or want to win, The Mole: Saboteur's Island?"**

**And the results were as follows:**

**Vivian:**_** 5 votes **_(_26 percent)_

**Yoshi: _9 votes_** _(47 percent)_

**Luvbi: _3 votes _**_(15 percent)_

**Wario: _2 votes_**_ (11 percent__)_

And Yoshi was the lead for that poll, reaching almost half the votes! Will he actually win the game? Vivian was the second-most popular vote, with a score of 5 votes. She still has that chance of victory. Luvbi, who of course can't win, still got a respectable 3 votes, and Wario got 2 votes, making him the least popular. However, scores don't mean anything, luckily for Wario. There can only be one winner in the end. Who will it be? But most importantly, there is a bigger question: who is the Mole?

**Vivian. Yoshi. Wario. One of these people is the Mole, and has been hiding their secret from the very start. But just who is it? Give in your reviews everyone! And thanks so much to all who had voted and read up to now! The final episode...comes next. :)**

**P.S. Catch an exclusive picture clue on my profile tomorrow!**


	34. Into the Tension

**So my little bro told me, "Hey, you haven't updated your fanfiction. In a looooooong time." So yes. He was right. **

**And here it is! ****This is where things really get interesting, and all conclude. SO BACK TO MOLE MODE and enjoy! The final episode starts.**

* * *

**Episode 8**

** Wario. Yoshi. Vivian. Three players have traveled for so long, yet only little is known about their upcoming fates. What will come for them in this episode is unknown, and which path they choose to take is up to them. With Luvbi gone, it's hard to predict the winner now. Smart, reserved, and a player of great uniqueness, Luvbi found herself falling down in the final execution of the game. **

**But then there were three. One of these people will be the winner, having worked their way to the end, jumping from place to place and landing their spot as the winner. One will be the loser, finally succumbing to the aspects of this game. And that third player? There's a heavy aura around him or her. Something that has been there since the very first episode. **

**That player is the Mole.**

* * *

**PLAYER: Vivian**

_Surname: Shadens_

_Birthday: October 4_

_Occupation: Visual Display Artist_

_._

**PLAYER: Yoshi**

_Surname: Dino_

_Birthday: April 13_

_Occupation: Fruiterer/Waiter_

.

**PLAYER: Wario**

_Surname: Garlimo_

_Birthday: September 29_

_Occupation: Moneylender/Explorer_

* * *

Yoshi: _Day 22 of this game: I want to express my happiness, so here! I made it to the final episode, and I feel a bit of pride at this point, but meh, who can help it? I have two opponents left in this game, and I know they're both strong. But I'm still gonna try. _

Wario: _The final episode...I made it. I mean, I was sure that I was gonna get executed last episode. I had almost no idea if what I put on that quiz was even good enough! Guess my answers were correct enough, and right now? It's aaaa mazing: the final episode._

Vivian: _I've just been shaking with fear, and also joy. There are so many things I want to say but I just have to be quiet for now. But overall, I'm just so happy. I'm playing this game by myself now, even though Luvbi got executed. This is the final episode, and I'm not sure what's going to happen. I guess each one of us will see..._

* * *

New feelings were amidst. Suspicions had changed, and eyes were seeing things that could never be seen before. It was the final episode, and where ten players once stood, only three remained. A boat drifted across the water, an ocean traveled across so many times that it could only give familiarity to the people on board. A host was on the boat, planning, busy, and just thinking about how the game was going to flow, now that it was in its final stage. Three guests were sitting in the boat's main room. They were eating.

"Wow, this is really good" Vivian said, her eyes opening with surprise. "I can't believe I'd like salmon." She looked up, smiling at the others.

"Really then," Yoshi said, beaming. "It's called cooking randomness."

"I think you should be a chef," began Vivian, "and a waiter. I mean, I guess we should all go for our dreams, right? I went for mine, but I still have more dreams in the back of my head."

"Trying this food is like, I don't know," Wario said, as he twirled the cracker-sandwich that he was holding, "is like playing the game." Both Vivian and Yoshi looked at him.

"That's an odd analogy, but I like it," Vivian said, as she finished swallowing her food.

"I guess I'm trying to relate to this game someway," Wario said. "Take that sentence as a fancy word of advice from me." Yoshi raised his eyebrow.

"Eating is like...playing this game?" he thought. Wario slapped his head and hook it at the same time.

"Sometimes I lose my words in the middle of a sentence," Vivian said, almost reassuringly. "I don't know what to say next a lot."

Vivian: _It is such an odd feeling, knowing that one of us three is the Mole. It's always been like that, but now that there's only the three of us, it's so intimidating._

"Yeah, that," concluded Wario, taking a bite from his sandwich. "The more I play, the more tired I get. It's like it never ends at all, this annoying game."

"Well, the more I play this," said Yoshi, eating his own sandwich, "the hungrier I get!" Both Wario and Vivian laughed.

"It's true," Yoshi muttered with a bite.

Yoshi: _I never thought that Wario would make it past Goombella. Or Vivian would beat Bobbery. These two people...they're the strongest now. And one of them isn't the Mole, so I know that that person had made it here genuinely._

"At first when I started this game," Vivian admitted, as they turned to her, "I didn't know what to do. But now, I guess I've grown as a person. I feel like I have better goals and know what I'm doing." Yoshi glanced at Wario, who glanced back.

"Yeah, goals and knowing what you're doing," Yoshi said quietly.

Wario: _The exact thing I was talking about with Yoshi yesterday. If he knows who the Mole is, and I know who the Mole is, then I mean, it leaves one person in the game. I mean, it either makes sense, or makes no sense at all._

"Vivian, so how did you make that decision yesterday?" Wario said, leaning closer to her. "The exemption?"

"Oh, well" began Vivian, "I knew that I couldn't take it. I couldn't. My morals wouldn't have allowed it. And...I'm too physically weak to break it anyway." She laughed, remembering the ordeal from two nights ago.

"Wow," said Yoshi, listening to her. "That's really brave. I don't think any other person in this entire game, executed or non-executed, would have done what you did."

"Yeah, VERY brave," Wario couldn't help saying. "If I were you, I'd have taken that exemption and secured myself in the final episode."

"True, greedy but true," Yoshi agreed.

"Well, sometimes you just have to do things, despite the risk," Vivian said, looking at no one in particular. "It doesn't make you feel good."

"I guess I'd never know what would have happened, had I been offered that exemption," Wario said, thinking.

"I respect you," Yoshi said, giving Vivian a smile. Vivian smiled to herself, feeling confident as she looked out the window.

"Okay, so," began Wario, his voice increasing, "one of us is the Mole, and I want to say that-" But at that second, McHallyboo entered the room, finished with his episode preparations. The three players all turned to him.

"Well, we have the final three," the host said. "It's been such a long time since I had three players remaining at the end of a game." He looked across the line of the sitting three, back and forth, then stopped at Yoshi.

"You remind me of a green plumber," the host said, as Yoshi looked at the host, confused, but McHallyboo only continued without stopping.

"The most enthusiastic person. A little clueless, but really smart in the end. Someone who has the motive to win if he tried, and who might be successful if he allows himself in the end to take that final jump. But other than that, you're you. Despite how suspicious you are in this game, and how much you could be the Mole, you could use that to your advantage. You might be able to pull forth. Seal that spot." Yoshi smiled with a blush, confused still but understanding. The host turned to Wario.

"You remind me of this squid," McHallyboo said, as Wario stared, confused, but just folded his arms. "His emotions were mixed, but he played hard even when he didn't have to. But he always had something in the back of his mind. He could be a genuine player, or a saboteur within. And maybe if you play that out this season, you can become one of the best players here. So are you focused as the Mole this time, or a player? What are you thinking of?" Wario just looked at the host, baffled, but understanding in a certain personal way. McHallyboo turned to Vivian.

"There was this little toad that kind of reminded me of you," said the host, looking at Vivian last and smiling a bit. "Of course, she wasn't as quiet as you, but she identified herself as a weaker person. But sometimes, people couldn't help but suspect her as the Mole. Either that, or a great and amazing player. You're one of those. You know which one you are. So play your role to potential." Vivian looked at the host, a little taken back at first, but then nodded.

"This is another round," said McHallyboo. "Congratulations to you all. Episode 8, and the final episode, has started, and so has the beginning of the end of this game. We'll be arriving at the base of Bianco Hills in just over thirty minutes."

"Bianco Hills?" Wario asked. "Doesn't that name mean 'white hills' or something? I studied Italian a bit before the game began, and that word's...familiar to me. Mega familiar."

"Following it's name, it's more up higher than usual," the host reasoned. "Unlike most locations around here, Bianco Hills doesn't border the ocean at all, but is located higher above all other places. It's very near to the location of Ricco Harbor."

"Ricco Harbor," said Yoshi, remembering events from four episodes ago in his mind as if they happened yesterday.

Yoshi: _We've been to so many places here, and visiting back to those places is mind-blowing. Only two or three locations left to visit._

"Blooper surfing," Yoshi laughed, as he was given a glare by none other than Wario.

"Hey, I did a better job than anybody else could," Wario snorted. With a tip of his hat, the host turned to leave.

"Okay, I think this next game might cost a lot of money," Vivian said, as the host left. "We really have to all try our best this episode. And on the next mission especially."

Vivian: _Would the Mole sabotage? Not sabotage? It all depended. I had no idea what the Mole was going to do this round._

"Okay," said Yoshi, looking at Wario. Wario just nodded.

"Yeah," he said. "Let's try our best playing. What else?"

"Well, that's good," said Vivian, a hopeful smile on her face. Their next location waited, and before they could gather up their thoughts and plans for the rest of the episode, they had already arrived in another land: Bianco Hills.

* * *

Wario: _I'm a player with something 'in the back of his mind'? What the heck was McHallyboo talking about? Obviously he was comparing me to Blooper from last season, but it didn't make any sense. Anyways, he called me suspicious, but I'm nothing like that._

Yoshi: _I was happy when McHallyboo compared me to the winner of last year, Luigi. He said I showed big potential. But he also called me suspicious, which __intimidates me. But maybe I can use that to my advantage. Even so, I'm gonna play it all out, so here comes nothing, and here goes nothing too._

Vivian: _I was surprised a little that McHallyboo compared me to the Mole from last year. I haven't really done much, especially suspicious-wise. I don't try to be suspicious, but others see differently, so honestly I'm not sure what I should do. Or maybe he thinks I'm a good player. It just confuses me more, what McHallyboo said to me. I guess I'll find out more later when I play._

* * *

A narrow pathway had led them to Bianco Hills. Taking a small coach bus up the very vertical land path that was the side of Isle Delfino's island, they had reached a land where a countryside was present. In the distance, the players saw windmills, along with other tall structures that seemed to be platforms that sprung out of nowhere from the green land in the distance. The area around them was unsurprisingly hilly, and white walls seemed to separate the small town into sections. It could almost seem like a maze, traveling through town.

"It's peaceful," said Wario admittingly, viewing and surveying the town.

"If we had to end somewhere, well," said Yoshi, breathing in the air, "this would be it."

"Yeah, but this isn't our last place, at least not here," McHallyboo informed. "This is the location of your first episode mission." He looked at them.

"A lot of times, we like to keep tradition, and by tradition, we mean the keeping of certain games." He pointed to the small town in front of all of them.

"Oh," said Vivian, realizing the next mission.

"We will be playing something called the 3 Questions Test," the host explained, "and this is how the game works. One by one, you will be sequestered into the town of Bianco Hills. Before that, you will be asked three questions. Each question will have two answers each, the answers being your respective fellow mates."

"Umm," said Wario, looking a little unsure and scratching his head. "Questions about the other two? How will we know what they say or answer?"

"But these questions will be important, because after you are hidden, the other two players must answer those same exact questions in your perspective," McHallyboo went on. "So with each question they answer correct, they will be brought closer to you. Get all three questions correct, and you will add 10,000 coins to the team pot. But if just one question is answered wrong, you win nothing."

"So it's like a guessing game! But with a little advantage," said Yoshi.

"What's key is that you use all of the analyzations that you've processed about each other in the past 3 weeks, and use it here," said McHallyboo. "It's all about reading each others' minds and how well you can do it. This game will be worth a total of thirty thousand coins." He turned around to look at the town fully, then turned back to look at the players.

"So, who would like to be sequestered first?" he asked. In an instant, they saw Vivian's hand raise into the air first.

"You're going first?" Wario asked, looking surprised.

"Yeah, I'll go," she said, facing McHallyboo.

Vivian: _Taking a stand...it's hard. But I just have to, and hopefully I can surprise the others with the stuff I'm doing._

"Well, Vivian, then follow me," said McHallyboo, and before them, a large path that usually held a layer of slippery water was now empty, as the two of them walked down it. Vivian was now being sequestered from the others, and no matter how far Yoshi and Wario looked, Vivian's chosen path could not be seen by them.

* * *

"Well, there used to be a wire here," said McHallyboo, as Yoshi and Wario followed him across a plank that stretched over a stream. Now, they had entered safely into the actual town of Bianco Hills.

"The Three Questions game begins now," said McHallyboo, as he took a card out from his pocket.

"This is the first question, that Vivian was asked: 'Who is more likely to get fired on their first day of work for arriving intoxicated?' If you say Yoshi, follow me to the left. If you say Wario, follow me to your right." Wario looked stunned, while Yoshi laughed.

"Oh boy," said Yoshi, still laughing. "Umm. That's a funny question!"

"A bit personal, don't you say?" Wario said, easily offended.

"And it's only the first question," the host said with a grin. "Ideas?"

"So wait, we have to answer either Wario or Yoshi to answer the question, right?" Wario confirmed. McHallyboo nodded.

"So I'd say Yoshi," Wario said flatly. Yoshi's mouth dropped.

"Wait," said Yoshi, frowning. "Let's go this over, right? If Vivian had to choose a person for that question, I mean-"

"Why in the world would she choose me?" said Wario, arguing. "She would choose you. If anyone, you. If I got a new job I'd actually work, while you'd probably dilly-dally and lose track of your job. And maybe even drink."

"I actually have a job right now, and I don't even drink," Yoshi said back, slightly insulted.

"That means nothing," Wario pointed out. "It's saying if we get a new job, and in my opinion, I would be more experienced. As a moneylender, there are so many jobs I can be experienced in."

"You want to go with me?" Yoshi said, looking at him and his voice getting 1-percent heated. "All right. Fine. We're going for Yoshi Dino." Yoshi pointed to the left.

"I mean, no hard feelings or anything," said Wario. "It's just a game. I'm just trying to help us win."

"Your answering with Yoshi?" McHallyboo asked. While Wario nodded, Yoshi just tilted his head.

"All right," said McHallyboo, and he pointed to his left, where small, hut-resembling structures sat within flat land. "Follow me." Question 1 finished, they traveled with heated feelings.

Yoshi: _It's easy to lose this game. Especially when people annoy you in Round 1. One wrong answer out of three, the whole thing is over. _

* * *

"Well, this is our spot for Question 2," McHallyboo said, stopping between two tall structures than both resembled somewhat the appearances of two sail ships, but with just the masts.

"The second question: If Vivian were stranded on an island for a day, who would she choose to be with? If you say Wario, we enter the small building before us on our left. If you say Yoshi, we turn right and walk." There was an awkward glance between both players.

"Hrmm, well," Yoshi began.

"This question is faulty, come on," Wario realized with complain. "It doesn't say how the island looks like. So technically, you can't really answer this question."

"That's nonsense," Yoshi objected. "Remember: these questions are from Vivian's point of view. It's how she looks at it, not how we look at it."

"So, how would Vivian answer it?" McHallyboo imputed. The two of them looked at each other, then at the building in front of them, the number **712 **on its entrance.

Wario: _So I personally think these questions are just rigged. And this game was impossible. We had to take a crapshoot. _

"If we enter the building, do you think she'll be there?" Yoshi wondered. Wario looked at the building door hard, then jumped.

"Yeah, she's probably hiding in the building," Wario said, slowly. "Where else could she hide? I mean, look around us. And this question is impossible to answer anyway. Let's enter the door and get this over with."

"Huh? Really?" Yoshi said, baffled. Wario shrugged.

"Where else? I mean, come on. Look around." Wario folded his arms, feeling a little successful.

"Well, it IS all open air around us," said Yoshi, agreeing. "All right. Let's go." He faced McHallyboo.

"We answer Wario," he answered. McHallyboo smiled.

"So Wario is the answer, into Door **712**?" the host questioned. The two of them nodded, as they approached the door of one of the only few buildings within Bianco Hills. Slowly and with uncertainty, the two players entered the house along with McHallyboo.

* * *

The area was stuffy, as they saw that the entire inside of the house was almost split into two sections. The house looking symmetrical, both from the outside and the inside. After making it down a miniature hallway, they found themselves at two doors.

"Well, she might be right behind one of these doors," Yoshi wondered.

"Your final question that Vivian was asked!" the host said. "The question is: who would steal money from their own family for their own personal gain?"

"Okay, so we'll probably go by stereotype, and assume me," Wario said suddenly, sounding like he was giving in.

"Well," Yoshi said, pulling at his collar shirt. "I won't be offended."

"Well, don't worry," said Wario, throwing his hands up uncaringly. "I'm not even offended if you answer me for this. She would choose me, wouldn't she?"

Wario: _I mean, we could either argue about it, or be realistic about it. I didn't want to lose this game._

"Hah, well," Yoshi replied. "All right. We can go with you. For this one only."

"Wario would be the door on the right," said McHallyboo.

"And we'll open that door," said Wario, sounding sure. Stepping back, the host motioned for one of them to step forwards. Wario stepped up, a little uncertainty in his motions but finally made his way before the door. With a deep breath, he raised his hand, and knocked on the door.

"Vivian?" he said, a little bit of a growl in his voice. There was no reply.

"Is she there?" Yoshi said, peeking. Wario shook his head.

"No, she'd reply right away...darn," said Wario, and he was right. McHallyboo shook his head, confirming the end of their round and their hard-worked loss. Vivian was nowhere to be heard.

* * *

When Vivian walked her way to where the others were, they had already made their way to the very start of Bianco Hills. All of them now out of the town, they were where they first began, at the top of the wide stone path. They all knew that the round had been lost.

"I guess you guys didn't find me," said Vivian, sounding a little disappointed.

"What were your answers to the questions?" McHallyboo questioned. "The first question I asked you was, 'Who is more likely to get fired on their first day of work for arriving intoxicated?'"

"I answered Yoshi," said Vivian, and Yoshi's face dropped. Even Wario looked a little surprised.

Yoshi: _I thought we were just answering for fun and risking it, but Vivian really did answer me...to arrive drunk for a job. Wow._

"Yeah, we answered Yoshi," Wario informed, "but even I thought it was a little...askew." Vivian shrugged, looking down.

"Second question," McHallyboo asked, "was, 'If Vivian were stranded on an island for a day, who would she choose to be with?'"

"And I chose Yoshi for that one," said Vivian. Wario and Yoshi looked at each other.

"We...just chose a random door to go inside," Wario said, saying it with a hint of unwillingness. Vivian looked confused.

"Huh?" she said. "What do you mean?"

"I mean," said Wario, motioning to Yoshi, "we thought you couldn't hide anywhere else but inside the building, so we went there."

"Yeah, we did that, but we tried using logic too," Yoshi said.

Wario: _Really, I mean we were using logic. The question was unanswerable anyway, and Vivian's mind is hard to read, so choosing to go into that door shouldn't be my fault. Vivian is the most suspicious here, acting as if I was to blame._

Vivian: _It was the most strangest and suspicious thing, what Wario decided. Enter the building cause it looked like I would hide there? It was very sabotagey and a good one, if you were answering the questions._

"We figured that maybe, POSSIBLY you could have been in the house," Yoshi tried to add. "Because we both knew that you were hiding at least somewhere."

"I was hiding behind a bush on the right side of the town," Vivian pointed out. "Just because it's open field, it doesn't mean I can't hide there."

"Well, true," said Yoshi, with admit. McHallyboo turned to all three of them, a smile on his face again.

"The third question was correct, about stealing money from family," the host said, as Vivian shifted her feet. "But because of one error, that's a first loss."

"I didn't want to answer any of you for that question, but yeah," Vivian said, shrugging.

"Who would like to go next for Round 2?" McHallyboo asked, as Yoshi and Wario looked at each other.

"Anyone?" Yoshi offered, as they looked at Wario. Wario shrugged.

"All right, I'll go," said Yoshi, and with that, he was sequestered into the town, while both Wario and Vivian were forced to stay alone and wait. While questions were being answered, time passed. Soon enough, the round was ready for the two players.

* * *

"Round 2!" announced McHallyboo, and they were standing on the other side of the stream. Vivian and Wario stood next to each other, curious, while McHallyboo had a card in his hand and read it out loud.

"The first question Yoshi was asked," said McHallyboo, "was, 'Which person would you trust to drive you to the hospital in time if you were on the brim of dying?' If you choose Wario, go to your left. If you choose Vivian, go to your right."

"Hmm...well, this question," Vivian commented, then looked at Wario, confused.

"Well, who would Yoshi choose?" said Wario, looking heavily in thought. "If he was dying in an ambulance and wanted one of us to get inside and drive. It depends."

"He might choose me because I'm more calm at driving," Vivian spoke up.

"But at the same time, you might be too calm," Wario thought. "I would drive in time, you know? Like, make it to the hospital in time. Heck, I'd save anyone if they wanted me to bring them to the hospital."

"But you might be reckless," Vivian finished. "Yoshi might think you're reckless."

"Yoshi doesn't think I'm reckless!" Wario retorted. "I mean, it's either me or you."

Vivian: _In my opinion, I think Wario likes to elongate the questions a lot. He's spending a lot of time answering them, but it just makes it more difficult._

Wario: _The fact is, Vivian and I don't think alike at all. In the end, we really couldn't answer questions._

"I guess we could say...calm or reckless driving are the choices," Vivian finished, but still sounded unsure.

"And I guess calm would be the most likable choice, right?" Wario said, trying to sound logical. "All right. Maybe I am a bad driver. Let's go with you."

"Okay," said Vivian, and she nodded at McHallyboo. "Vivian." The host smiled, then motioned for both Wario and Vivian to go towards the other side of the town, where the first round failed to explore. Going through an entrance in the wall that divided Bianco Hills, the two of them followed McHallyboo to an area of even more green.

* * *

"Second question," said McHallyboo. They were brought to a place where palm trees towered them, and the sun was temporary blocked by their shadows. Around them, the lake of Bianco Hills could be seen on all sides.

"I wonder where he could be hiding," Wario seen, peering about.

Vivian: _Again, Wario was using the "where could he be" technique. But honestly, it doesn't work in this game at all. You have to actually answer the questions, or else you're totally off._

"Yoshi was asked the question, 'Who is more likely to join a cult dedicated to violence?' If you choose Vivian, go left. If you choose Wario, go to your right." When McHallyboo finished, Wario raised his eyebrow.

"So, I think he's most likely to choose me for this question," Wario said, "unless, there is something about violence you like."

"No, I consider myself a pacifist," Vivian said, laughing a little. "I don't mean to be mean, but I'd choose you too."

"Hey, it's for the game," said Wario. "So you'd say me, right?"

"Yeah," said Vivian, and even though, she looked at McHallyboo a little hesitantly.

"We would answer Wario for that question," she answered.

"I second that," said Wario, grinning a little.

McHallyboo smiled, and walked even more, to a location that baffled them: a lone patch of green land was separated from them by a part of the lake, and the only way to get across was by the existence of three, wooden, up-right poles that stuck out from the water. It was almost like an obstacle course.

"Yoshi's athletic, so he's definitely hiding over there," said Wario. Vivian couldn't help but roll her eyes just a little bit.

* * *

Vivian was helped across the last step, with the help of both Wario and McHallyboo and the row boat that they had used. At last, they were at the final location, and before them, two bushes were before them, sitting very motionless on the ground and large enough to hide a dinosaur in each one.

"Okay, this is your final question of Round 2," said McHallyboo, pointing to the bushes. "If Yoshi were to name his child after one of you, which name wouldn't he choose? If you say Wario for this one, it's the bush on the left. If you say Vivian, it's the bush on his right." Wario looked at the left bush intently.

"In other words," Wario thought, "Would Yoshi want a male or female child?"

"I don't think it's asking that," Vivian thought.

"Well, what else is this asking?" said Wario, repeating the question over in his head.

Vivian: _I didn't want to argue too much. And in the end, it was all chance. I didn't want to make it a big deal._

"I would say...maybe male," Vivian guessed. "I think Yoshi would want a male successor."

"Heh, calling him a monarch?" Wario said with a bit of a laugh. "I guess...all right." He faced McHallyboo.

"We will answer Wario," he said, and started to walk towards the bush on the left.

"Are you sure?" said McHallyboo, speaking slyly. "Remember, the question was, 'Which name WOULDN'T he choose?" Wario froze for a second.

"Oh snap," he said with realization, going back to his original spot. He chuckled, and motioned for Vivian to step ahead.

"I got it," Vivian said. As the host nodded with confirmation. Vivian in respect started to walk towards the other bush, but stopped before it.

"Just tap on it," said McHallyboo. "Yoshi, if you are there, pop out when you feel a tap!" Vivian stuck out her hand and gave the bush a little pat.

"Come on," she said, a little hopefully. But as she hit the bush once more harder, she knew, along with Wario and the host, that Yoshi was not present at all. They had failed their search. A second round was failed again.

* * *

"Hi, sorry you couldn't find me," said Yoshi. He was brought out from his actual hiding spot and back at the start, where the others had been waiting.

"Well, there goes 10,000 coins down the drain," Wario said miserably. Yoshi smiled half-heartedly.

"We're not completely done," he remembered.

"The first question asked was, 'Which person would you trust to drive you to the hospital in time if you were on the brim of dying?'" said McHallyboo, looking at Yoshi. "Which person did you answer."

"I chose Wario, cause he would be faster at driving," said Yoshi. Both Vivian and Wario looked at each other, with a mix of amusement but defeat.

"Well, we thought," said Wario, thinking more.

"A little too much," Vivian remembered. "We thought the question was either calm driving or reckless driving...we got that so wrong." Despite the loss, Yoshi still laughed.

"The second question asked was, 'Who is more likely to join a cult dedicated to violence?' Wario or Vivian?"

"Heh," said Yoshi, looking at his two peers awkwardly. "I chose Vivian for that." Vivian's mouth dropped open.

"Why'd you...pick me?" she said, completely dumbfounded.

"I just thought you'd be the type to try new stuff," said Yoshi. "But if you're mad, be mad. I'm sorry. I would have voted for McHallyboo if I could." The host stopped mid-sentence and turned to Yoshi.

"That's okay," said Vivian, and they could hear forgiveness yet hurt in her voice.

Wario: _Yoshi answered two questions wrong, and I think he must have messed up on purpose or something. No way could we get TWO wrong in a single round, let alone one. He was fishy-ing it up._

Yoshi: _Vivian and I...we're friends. We're really nice to each other, so making this move did make me a little sad...ouch._

"How about the last question?" McHallyboo asked. "About naming a child? You didn't want to name her Vivian. They got that correct."

"Well," said Yoshi, and he thought quickly, but truthfully. "I didn't want to name a child of mine Vivian, cause that'd just overlap memories. I wanted to know Vivian as a great friend, and one of the nicest people in my memory that I'll know." At this, the player smiled heavily, her face showing change.

"What does that say about me, huh?" Wario said, and all three of them laughed. McHallyboo, chuckled, but then pointed to the final player left on the list: Wario.

"That was fun, but intense," Yoshi said, shrugging but truthful.

"Wario, are you ready for your round of questions?" said the host, and as he gulped, Wario was brought by the host to be separated from the others, as his questions were delivered with reluctance one by one.

Vivian: _I was a little intimidated that we didn't win a round yet. There was no money won. So the next round, it was my final chance in this game._

* * *

"This is...your question," the host said to them grandly, as Yoshi and Vivian were brought to none other than the other side of the river. "Your final round . Wario was first asked, 'If you heard that one of the other players was sent to a mental institution, who would you think it was?' Yoshi, go right. Vivian, go left." Vivian's eyes were wide, while Yoshi chuckled.

"Huh, tough," Yoshi pondered. He faced Vivian.

"I'd choose me," said Vivian. "I don't see how Wario would choose you at all."

"Actually, they'd send hyper people there and think they're crazy," Yoshi said reluctantly. Vivian tried to cover a smile.

"Well, I just think...actually," Vivian started. "I don't mean to be rude, but to win this game, I have to go with you."

"So you're saying that you agree with me," Yoshi said, folding his arms. "Aww, thank you." Vivian laughed, but shook her head.

"Just this question," she said. "I promise." Yoshi nodded his head, smiling too. Vivian faced McHallyboo.

"We'll go with Yoshi," said Vivian, and the group of three began their journey to the right, to find the player of isolation.

* * *

They were next lead to a place where the palm trees covered most of the walkway. But McHallyboo took out his next card, and read it to the players.

"We're either going towards the windmill, or will sail across this lake on a leaf," the host told them, pointing both ways. "The second question that our lone player was asked was, 'Who would consider their life more of a failure?' Either Yoshi or Vivian." There was silence between both players, who were appalled by the question.

"Wow, umm," started Vivian, looking at Yoshi. Yoshi sighed.

"Yeah, this question sucks," said Yoshi. "Hum. I wonder who came up with these in the first place." McHallyboo coughed and glanced towards the lake water.

"I would say me," said Vivian. "Because it can be either one of us, and I answered bad for you the last question. I don't want to hurt you as a friend. We'll go for me this time."

"No, don't play like that," Yoshi protested softly. "Not only might it be wrong, but it's just not fair." Vivian shrugged.

"I'd still go with me," she said, nodding her head slightly.

"Hmm, well," said Yoshi, then remembered something. "It's only the opinion of Wario." Vivian smiled, feeling a little bit better.

"We'll go with Vivian for Wuestion 2," Yoshi said to McHallyboo. With a confirmed look, he turned around, motioning them to follow.

"Then to the windmill, we must go," he said, and the longest leg of the game was walked. They turned towards a bridge and walked a path above water, then up a winding path of white stone, and could only wonder if Wario was hiding within their next destination.

* * *

"Your final destination is here," said McHallyboo, and they stopped right under the colossal windmill. Vivian and Yoshi looked up to see the spinning blades, immense and powerful and spinning above them. But there was more to their path ahead of them. However, the host had already stopped walking.

"You will either keep on going," said McHallyboo, pointing ahead of them but to a direction off their path, where a ledge was visible, "or we will go off to the side path over there, where Wario could possibly be hiding." Yoshi and Vivian looked ahead of them, peering both ways.

"Umm...the question?" Vivian said fearfully. McHallyboo took out the third and final card.

"The final question of this game, that Wario answered" McHallyboo read, and even his own eyes widened at the content of the question. "In the end, who do you think will be the loser of, 'The Mole: Saboteur's Island'?"

* * *

**Burn!**

**So yah. The final episode is finally here! I graduated high school! (huh...I'm old). x.x**

**But yah, this is it, and I have a summer that's very job-less and event-less so hopefully (and sadly) this will finish before we know it. But for now, enjoy! Speculate. Three people. Only one is the real saboteur And who is the Mole?**

**In case you missed it, my profile has the latest picture clue :) And this final episode, more obvious clues will be spilling one by one. So keep your eyes peeled. Please review! This is the last episode, and last thoughts are always smiled upon.**

**Till next part! **


	35. Halt of Luckiness

**Ooh! Hey, it's a record update time! How is this possible? I figured it would go smooth, especially since it's the final three! But the excitement continues! Games wind down and begin. Enjoy part 2!**

* * *

**Episode 8 (Part 2)**

It was the most hair-rising question so far in the game, and McHallyboo waited for the other two to give an answer, or at least a sound. Vivian sighed about two times, and Yoshi sounded like he wanted to say something, but stopped.

"Hmm, umm," began Yoshi, but then stopped.

Vivian: _The question really hit me in a certain way. It was strange just with how personal it was. And then suddenly, I didn't really want to answer it. I didn't want to ruin the game, but when my emotions got hit, it felt like all my feelings were hit too._

"I don't want to answer the question," said Vivian, her voice filled with small rejection.

"What? No, we have to," said Yoshi, still pondering. "I don't care-"

"You think Wario would answer this question honestly?" Vivian asked, curiously.

"Maybe," Yoshi thought. "He could have." Yoshi shrugged, as Vivian just sighed.

"It's just, well...all right," said Vivian, sounding more determined and shaking her head. "I really think he'd choose me. And I'd like to establish that as the final answer, if that's okay."

"You're sure?" Yoshi asked. "Like I said, I don't care-"

"Yeah," Vivian said, looking sure. "And it's not like...it's true or anything, whatever Wario answered for me." Even when she said this, she still looked down.

"Hey, you're totally right," Yoshi said, remembering what he said earlier. "Come on: if that's the answer you think is right, then let's do this. It's all...dumb questions anyway."

"And this is a dumb game," Vivian said, finishing, and then finally, managing to smile. Yoshi smiled with a nod too, as Vivian turned to McHallyboo.

"Yes, I think the answer would be me," she said. "As much as I hate the answer, I will go with myself."

Yoshi: _Vivian sounded so offended, if she were to be labeled to be labeled the loser of this game. It seemed real...but then again, we all know that the Mole is the best liar in the world. She can be so innocent-sounding, but at the same time, there's something false about her. It drives me kinda crazy._

* * *

A path was walked up by three people, and as the two players followed, the sound of the windmill above them got stronger and stronger, as it roared ahead with its complex spinning mechanism of rotating blades. But what got even more strong as they walked forwards was the increasing anxiety within the two players as their reached their final destination.

"He won't be up there, will he?" Vivian said, sounding honest but optimistic. "We would probably see him by now."

"Don't say that," Yoshi said, walking ahead but giving off small puffs. "Well...I guess...wait a minute." They stopped where they were, cut off, at the very end of the path. As Vivian and Yoshi looked slightly defeated, McHallyboo looked at the players, an ambiguous look on his face.

"Well, he's not here," said McHallyboo, the same look on his face, then looked up.

"But look where I am!" called out Wario from above them. Immediately, the two players looked up as well, and saw that at the top of the windmill's ledge, way up high and located at an unimaginable location on the windmill's roof, was Wario. Yoshi and Vivian were looking up at him in disbelief.

"I can't see you!" Yoshi shouted enthusiastically, trying to block the sun, "but I can hear you!"

"Oh my gosh," Vivian said, smiling. She then stopped.

"Does that mean we won the last round?" she asked, turning to McHallyboo. The host nodded, smiling.

"I think granting you all ten thousand coins would be an appropriate action," he said, and with that, everybody present, including the Mole, felt a little victorious.

* * *

"Well, out of all places I could have been hiding," said a grinning Wario with a shake of his head, "you had to pick the least likely place." McHallyboo had gathered them all at the start of the place, where they had always begun and ended their rounds. The layout of the town had provided them an entire mission, in less than just an hour, but even so with that short amount of time, the game was heavily and fully played to its potential.

"Because you had found Wario, that means every answer was correct that you two had answered," said McHallyboo, and he flipped back through his cards.

"'If you heard that one of the other players was sent to a mental institution, who would you think it was?'" Wario pointed his fingers around, and then stopped at Yoshi.

"Yeah, if anyone, Yoshi would be sent...but just cause he's hyper," Wario said with reason. "I wouldn't choose Vivian." Yoshi and Vivian nodded.

"I would choose myself too," Yoshi said with a little laugh.

"The next question, 'Who would consider their life more of a failure?', was what I asked you," said McHallyboo. "It was a harsh question. Why did you choose your answer?"

"Well," began Wario, "I think a part of me just wanted to switch my last bad answer...for this one, so I just went with Vivian. And I really didn't want to answer it." McHallyboo nodded, as Vivian nodded slowly.

"And how about the last question, about losing the game?" asked McHallyboo.

Wario: _What was my answer? Did I have to tell the truth? Was I telling the truth in the answer I picked for that question? I couldn't say any of those._

"I'm allowed to say 'no comment', right?" Wario inquired.

"Fair enough," said McHallyboo, shrugging. Vivian looked a tad disappointed, but despite it, she still smiled.

Vivian: _Have these games made me a little stronger? Or now that I look at it, maybe I've always just been the same person. The Three Questions game, it was interesting, and it hurt me much less than I thought. I just never considered myself strong, at least mentally, at all._

"Tough game," said Yoshi, folding his arms. "Even though we barely did exercise, I still felt like I worked out." The host laughed.

"Mental exercise," McHallyboo said with a clear voice. "These games get harder and harder."

**TOTAL POT VALUE**

_240,000 COINS_

"Unbelievable," said the host, and he shook his head and chuckled. The three of them looked at him, blank expressions on their faces.

"What is it?" Vivian asked, but the host just laughed more.

"You're officially at the mark...where last game's pot value ended," the host said, remembering it as if it was yesterday. "Two-hundred and forty thousand coins. Right on the mark."

"So?" Wario said. "We have like two more games to play! What are you talking about? We can still win more!"

"Yeah, isn't that true?" Yoshi asked. "We can still win more cash!"

"Yes, true, but do you know what that means?" said McHallyboo. "The Mole is going to do everything they can to stop this pot from rising. Welcome to the final episode! May the Mole be with you!" He chuckled more, and then laughed even heavier, as the three players only stared at him with a mix of curiosity and confusion.

* * *

Yoshi: _McHallyboo just creeps me out sometimes, but he's right. The Mole is probably mad, realized that he or she did a more terrible job than they probably did last year, at least compared to Toadette the other Mole, and will make finishing blows until the end. Or something._

Wario: _Tired, suspicious, and I just want most of this to end already. Sure, we have a lot of money in the pot, but are we going to win any more? This is the final stage, and maybe only a third or fourth into the episode. I'm sure there's more to come that we can't see._

Vivian: _No one knows what the Mole's gonna do, so not only is there no reason for me to predict what's going to happen next, but it makes the game a whole lot scarier too. I'm still so terrified, when I think of it. I try to keep my nervousness down, and I think I'm doing a good job. I'm just going to play it all out now, and see what the end brings._

* * *

Rest was assured, at least in the location they were in. The players were left at Bianco Hills, and they walked even more in that town for the two days that they were there than they had in the 3 Questions game.

Now, they found themselves secluded from each other. Alone in their own game, they realized that the only person that mattered was themselves. They needed their own abilities, minds, and strengths to defeat everything and everyone around them that was blocking their way. One move could either mean securing an advantage, losing the game, or revealing your identity. Of course, the Mole only worried about the latter.

When he was called to the camera, Yoshi faced it, scratching his head a little bit but used to being in front of a camera lens for the past 3 weeks.

**1. Are you the Mole? (Say yes and explain how)**

"Am I the Mole? Yeah, I can be the Mole. But I'd be a cold-hearted person with a heavy aura around me, being there since the very first episode...just kidding, the Mole is probably good at heart but is either forced to or paid to be a backstabbing person with a mean demeanor. Well, I'm sure the Mole can be nice too, no doubt."

Vivian went to the chair situated in front of the camera uncomfortably, but she managed to answer the question asked to her.

"Well, I guess I could be it. This question is hard to answer because, well, I'm sure that I'm not the Mole, and that I'm sure that I'm just a regular player here, playing, who's still not sure what to do. But I think I could pull it off if I tried, the role of the Mole, if I really put my mind to it fully. I think I might have the potential too."

Wario faced the camera.

"I'm not the Mole, so hahaha. This question makes me laugh, but all right. I'll pretend I am. I like sabotaging and it does bring me some good pleasure when someone messes up. Of course, not when I mess up, but when someone else does. It just makes me grin, and I can't lie."

**2. Are you the Mole? (Say no and explain why)**

Yoshi: _Huh, honestly I think I remember telling a producer or two in the beginning that I didn't want to be the Mole. Not that I didn't think it was fun, or morally-bad, it's just that I like unpredictability, and being a regular player, you never what's gonna happen next. So it's fun for now._

Vivian: _I really couldn't see myself as the Mole. I just couldn't handle all the pressure, game after game and episode after episode. And in truth, throughout this game no one has seen me as a threat. And as far as I know, the Mole is a threat to people, so it just can't be me. No way at all, even just picturing myself._

Wario: _I'll continue from my other answer and say no, I'm not the Mole, just cause I think it'd be one of the most boring things ever. And plus, are you really going to honestly play this game for so long with no offer of the money at the end? Heh, let's just be a little realistic here._

**3. If you win the game, what would you do with the money? **

Yoshi: _Oh man, uh, probably pay for a lot of things. Restaurant renovations, then maybe buy something cool I've always wanted to buy. No idea what that is though, heh, but maybe a house...a boat...a large piece of land? This question is exciting! Gifts for other people, that's always nice, and maybe a few good clothes._

Vivian: _This question is just...so unimaginable. There's so much I would do, and I would love to explore how much I can do with my art. A studio might be nice, and I might even open up a small art school for others. I would love to inspire others. __But right now, I would hate to assume anything. But I will still have hope._

Wario: _Well, I have to admit that I've never won anything like 240,000 coins in my life. This money could change a whole lot of things. I will definitely pay a lot of people, that I either owe or just want to give money to. But I'll definitely help family. Family comes first, and that never changes._

**4. What will the Mole do in this final episode?**

Yoshi: _I think the Mole will do something out of the ordinary. That's my prediction. I have a feeling they are going to do something really surprising that surprises all of us. _

Vivian: _I really think something will happen that will make the Mole snap, out of nowhere, and as much as I hope this doesn't happen, it's very likely for it to. I just have to prepare myself for it._

Wario: _Who knows what will happen? I'm here to beat the Mole. And I'm not psychic, but I wish I knew what he or she would do. It's the final round, and I wonder how much time we really have left._

* * *

A table was set upon one of the most unique structures in Bianco Hills: on a location on top of the large white wall that separated the town. As the players were helped and guided up to the table, they took their places for lunch, with McHallyboo taking up one spot already. Not far from them, a spinning wood wheel could be seen, and all around them, a higher view of the village that was present to all of them, making the players feel both refreshed and struck with wonder.

"Very nice view, after two days here," said Wario, looking at the windmill in the distance with memory. "But, I would have liked it if our table was up there though." They all laughed.

"We should all thank the producers and crew for moving a table up here," McHallyboo said, drinking his tea cup. "They deserve thanks."

"Yes, and along with our host as well," said Yoshi, lifting up his own cup and smiling. "To McHallyboo, for being our host this entire game, till now." Both Wario and Vivian said raised their cups too with enthusiastic agreement, as McHallyboo just bowed his head.

"You guys are acting as if we're going to our last location so soon," said the host, a hint of acknowledgement in his voice.

"Well, I assume it's close," Vivian said. "I really don't think we'll be playing too many more games, now that's it's the final episode. Will we?" In her voice, they heard a little bit of disappointment.

"Well, we never know," said the host, and he looked at all three of them, pleased.

* * *

It was only just the beginning of what was in store. Walking away from Bianco Hills, they met at a special location, where a larger-than-usual building was located on the large side of the island's hill. After two days there, they knew that they were leaving. It was a mini-airplane port.

"To where, this time?" asked Wario, seeing and hearing the propellers of the airplane roar before them.

"To the location of your final mission," was all McHallyboo said, and he grinned. "All of you get inside. We're running a bit slow on schedule."

"Schedule?" Yoshi said, but he stepped in first, excited, then Wario after. McHallyboo motioned for Vivian to go in first, grabbing her hand and helping her into the back of the plane, as the two others got seated. Then, McHallyboo got inside.

"Daww, there are no windows," Yoshi said, sitting in his chair. Even so, he was still jumpy.

"Well, at least it's a mystery," said Vivian, realizing her fear of heights had much lessened throughout the game. She looked curiously around the airplane's interior.

"Aren't we going to be there like, soon though?" Wario realized. "The island is heck-sized small."

"Yeah," said McHallyboo, holding a small object in his hand. As Wario looked closer, he realized it was a poker chip.

Wario: _I was thinking we'd have a game in the plane, but I guess that's just too elaborate for what I was thinking. But the fact that McHallyboo was holding such a strange object in his hand made me think more than ever before._

* * *

At last, the airplane landed, and it was only thirty minutes from since they had first left that they had reached a final location. McHallyboo first looked at his watch, to see the time of 2:08, and then right after looked at the beautiful location before him. When the sound of the airplanes engine lessened, the sound of soft-crashing waves were audible in their ears, and the players got out.

The players looked with awe too with the host, and as the sand below them touched their feet as they got out of the plane, they continued to look on with a serene feeling.

"It's...I know this place," said Yoshi slowly. They looked at the resort ahead of them.

"It's Sirena Beach," said McHallyboo, taking a deep breath in. "Welcome to the location of your final mission."

Vivian: _It was so magnificent, and at the moment, the sun was still at its brightest. But even still, I couldn't believe that we had never been at this specific location yet. I guess McHallyboo saved the best for last._

"Wow, so, are we just going to dilly-dally in this beach," said Wario, "or are we going into the hotel?" Before them, past a small relaxing assortment of sun-bathing chairs and pools was a hotel, placed grandly and shining out as the main attraction of the location. In big, block letters, they saw the name, "_HOTEL DELFINO" _on its outside. Appearing three stories tall, the host lead the players closer to it, as they climbed a series of steps.

"I'm almost scared to go inside," said Wario, as Yoshi laughed.

"What, a hotel?" Yoshi chuckled. "Or are you scared cause this is where our final mission is? I guess...I'm a little bit too."

"Which one do you think?" Wario said. "For all I've heard about this place, it's haunted...AND, our final game is going to be inside here. Save me."

"But where is our final mission, anyway?" Vivian wondered, and when McHallyboo reached the door, he pulled it open, and they all entered. The atmosphere changed, and all around them was blue. As they walked into the lobby of Hotel Delfino, they saw portions of water in the floor, designed for either entertainment, scenery, or the mischief of falling into them. A few guests littered the floor here and there, noticing their obvious appearance, and in the middle of the floor was a large tiki-like stand that stretched all the way up to the hotel's top floor. The host walked them through the floor, to a reception desk on the left side.

"For the Mole," he said to the Pianta standing there. The Pianta nodded, pointing to a direction not far from him. The host motioned for the players to keep on following him, then stopped before an certain entranceway. The door resembled that of an elevator.

"Is this an elevator?" Yoshi asked.

"Technically, yes," the host said, smiling. "But we're going to a very special place."

"And...what place is that?" Vivian questioned nervously. McHallyboo took the poker chip out of his pocket that he had since the airplane trip, and smiled.

"The casino," he replied.

* * *

A red carpet greeted the three players as they entered into the casino of Hotel Delfino. It was completely bare: they could only assume that the area had been rented out specifically for them. As their eyes wandered around, they could only wonder what their mission had in store for them.

Wario: _I was looking around and thinking: darn, we can make a lot of money in this place. I was a little ready, but definitely more pumped than ever before._

Yoshi: _This looked like an intense place, and I've never gambled before. I've pulled a few slot machine levers in my life before, but that's pretty much it._

"Big slot machine," said Yoshi, looking to the right to see an immense version of a slot machine, as part of the casino's wall.

"It looks fake," Vivian said out loud. As they all looked closer, they noticed that the images displayed on the slots were none other than the green thumb print logos, changed just for them. Ahead of them, a curtain was draped. To their left, smaller slot machines were located, and near the entrance, a dealer's table was present. They found themselves at the center of the casino, in spiraling blocks of colors.

"Welcome, players, to your final mission," said McHallyboo, and the three players almost gasped.

Vivian: _Final mission? I was not ready for this at all. I could already imagine myself screwing up the game, because I was caught so unprepared._

"Up until now, you've used your skills to make it this far," the host began, "but it can't be denied the fact that you've also used luck to make it to this very spot as well. Take for instance, the first episode. None of you knew who the Mole was, and yet you survived. Poor Boo didn't have luck on him. Maybe he can have his revenge." He looked around the casino at this last line, as they saw another slot machine of similar size of the first one, all with boos on their slot images. The players shuddered, but listened.

"This last mission will be all about luck," said McHallyboo. "You will each be given 5,000 coins. In the next twenty-five minutes, you will all try to gain as much money as possible by playing around this casino. You can either slot it, play it, or guess it, depending on which game you wanna play in this room. You can do anything. You can win a maximum of 10,000 coins in your hand each."

"So...if we begin with 5,000 coins," Vivian calculated, "we can each gain 5,000 coins extra, so the maximum we can all make this final mission...is 15,000 coins?" But even though she was right, McHallyboo was quick to add more.

"Yes, but there's one more thing I must add," McHallyboo told them. "The five thousand coins that will be in your hand...will be coming from the pot." The three players looked stunned, realizing the threat of the game.

"So if you lose money, then you will be losing already-won cash," the host added. "Do what you want. This is your final game." He looked at his watch, and carefully pressed a button.

"The twenty-five minute timer...begins, now." As McHallyboo said this, he dropped three bag sacks onto the tile floor, and as he walked away, the players scrambled to them, grabbing a bag each.

"Count them," said Wario, looking inside to see multi-colored chips. "We don't want to be ripped off or anything." Yoshi scattered the chips in his own bag onto the floor in front of him, counting each one.

"There's fifty chips," he counted finally. "That means that each chip is worth...a hundred coins."

"A hundred-coin chip?" Vivian said with wonder, picking one from out of her bag.

"Well, don't lose any," said Wario. "I'm off to make some cash!" As he walked off, Vivian was quick to protest.

"Wait, shouldn't we stay together?" she suggested. "That way, we can watch each other and make sure we're not losing too much money." Wario looked confused at her.

"We'll all be in this same room anyway," he said, and with that, he walked off, to one of the larger slots on the right side of the room. Yoshi looked at Vivian, shrugging.

"Wanna try the other big slot?" Yoshi said, looking at it with heavy ambition but curiosity.

"Hmm, let's go for the smaller ones," said Vivian, pointing to a set of small slot machines that made up the left side of the room. "That way, we could both play." With a nod, the two of them went towards the rows of machines.

* * *

**5 Chips to Play**

"What...five hundred coins for one spin?" said Wario, flabbergasted and taken back. But seeing a slit in the wall for coin placement, he paid the toll anyway, and then backed his steps up. All of a sudden, the button in front of the immense slot machine began to light up, and when Wario went to put his hands on it, he tried to press down.

"I would suggest jumping on it," came McHallyboo's voice from the other side of the room. Wario grunted, then got on top of the pedestal. With a single jump, he landed back on it, and the floor sunk down, causing him to lose his balance and stumble. But as he got up to his feet, he saw that the machine was spinning.

"Come on," said Wario. "Land big..." To his surprise, the machine slots landed on three images in a row. But when it stopped spinning, he saw the images of three boos. It took Wario just a second to realize that no money was coming out, and that he had lost the spin.

"What...COME ON!" he bellowed.

* * *

Vivian and Yoshi made their way to a row of three machines, and sat down in front of one each, taking their seats on spinning stools. As Yoshi looked carefully at the machine in front of him and read its instructions, he inserted a coin into one of them.

"Might as well try," he said, smiling with ambition as he pulled down the lever of his machine. Vivian looked uncertainly at the device in front of her.

"I just don't want to lose more money than I win," she said carefully, shaking her head. "What if I end up losing everything?" As the machine in front of Yoshi stopped, he looked in awe. The images displayed had two cherries, and they both heard the clunking of chips hitting the bottom of the coin dispenser.

"Three...three-hundred coins," Yoshi said, taking each chip out and piling them. "That's a two-hundred coin profit! I can totally own this machine." Vivian looked surprised too, and faced the machine in front of her also.

"All right, well" she said, inserting one of her own chips into the slot before her and taking a small breath. "Let's try this game."

* * *

Wario had spun the wheel of the giant slot machine three more times: After two wins and two losses, he was back at a neutral value. But at the end of his third spin, the boos faced him once again. He groaned.

Wario: _It was one of the worst games to play. In fact, the whole casino seemed pretty rigged. I didn't know where to go next._

* * *

"Darn!" cried Yoshi, as he saw the small machine in front of him land on all different symbols.

Yoshi: _There was no thing as skill. We were relying on something in this mission that we had always relied on since the start: luck._

"How much did you lose?" Vivian said, who had only spun her machine three times and lost all three rounds.

"I dunno," Yoshi said honestly. "Maybe five chips. Eight in total? I think the chances of winning are getting lower." With a worried face, Vivian stopped her hand from inserting another coin.

"I'm going to go look around," she said, as Yoshi nodded, still keeping his eyes on the slot machine before him as he spun the lever for yet another round. Vivian got off her stool, and near the entrance of the casino, something caught her eye. There was a dealer's table, but at the front of the table was McHallyboo, smiling with a desk of cards near his hand and wearing a dealer's vest, dressed for the occasion. Vivian looked surprised, but walked over to the table with a small smile.

"What's this?" she asked, looking curiously.

"It's a Questionnaire Game," McHallyboo explained. "I ask a question and provide four choices, and you answer. The more confident you are, the more money you will bet on an answer. Want to give it a round?"

"Sure," said Vivian with agreement, sitting down. "After all, I'm not much for slot machines. I'd rather play this."

"Then let's begin," said the host with a grin. He put out four cards on the table, then took out another card and asked the first question.

"Your first question is: what is the molecular arrangement of water?" McHallyboo read, and with every choice he read, he flipped over one of the four cards. "A: H20, B: C02, C: 02H, D: H02. Put a maximum of five chips on any of the cards, and say 'Final Answer'." Vivian looked carefully, feeling sure of the answer but still hesitant.

"I'm going to put A, H20, but...I'm going to be careful and not bet too much." With her hand, she took two chips from her bag, and placed it on the first choice before her. "Final answer."

"Correct!" McHallyboo announced, as Vivian looked a little victorious.

Vivian: _This game seemed more fair, but at the same time, it was also still guessing and luck. You might know something, but at the same time, you might not. But never the less, I still continued to play._

* * *

"Boo," said Wario, sounding a little angrier. He had lost again, but never the less, Wario jumped once again on the button of the slot machine after paying once more, and he watched the dials spin. Finally after a long time, they stopped, and Wario could only stare with confusion as all three slots landed on the symbol displaying the Mole thumb logo.

"Huh?" From the mini-slide dispenser in front of him, a small chip came out, landing a distance from his feet. He went up to it, noticing it was blue in color. On its front was a message:

_**There's more money hidden than you think. Where did you see**__** it?**_

* * *

**Hope you all enjoyed this quicker-than-usual update! I definitely wanted to get this part done, due to an upcoming family trip. I need a laptop x.x haha**

**But yeah, the players' final mission is in play? Unbelievable! Maybe a little too unbelievable. But as the game continues, the episode goes on! What will happen next?**

**Thanks to all my readers and reviewers so, so much! And just wanted to say, if you've never reviewed the story up until now, this final episode are your last moments! Give in your detective words and opinions, and as well as your Mole choices. It would be too awesome :)**

** Thanks all! Till next update!**


	36. A Lockdown Surprise

**Yes! So I wanted a two-week budget on this update, and...well...I was close! In fact, I'm in a hotel room right now, finishing this part because I know I can't go any longer without updating for you guys. I'd break my promise of a swifter end! Tsk tsk.**

**But here it is. Part three of this last, last episode! **

* * *

**Episode 8 (Part 3)**

The activity in the casino was in full swing. One player found herself temporarily succeeding in the game she had discovered, answering a series of trivia questions to her wins.

Vivian: _I knew that I stood my best chance in something that didn't fully involve luck. But at the same time, I was hoping my best that the host wouldn't trick me or anything, later in the game. But for now, the questions seemed easy._

Another player was sleuthing the casino, betting here and there, but baffled with the presence of a mysterious object in his hand.

Wario: _This chip had to mean something. Heck, it had a hidden message, and I wasn't going to let this one pass me._

The third player wandered about, bag of chips in his hand and eyes wandering about until he spotted a secluded table, with both a player and a host sitting at it.

Yoshi: _Since this was our final game, we were all kind of betting here and there. Luckily, I discovered McHallyboo, so he had to be good news._

"Ooh, watcha playing?" said Yoshi, walking over to Vivian, who was in full playing-mode at the dealer's table. His voice was full of fatigue from the slot machines, compared to the more energetic and alive playing of Vivian, as McHallyboo gave her three more chips into her pile.

"It's just a game," Vivian said to him, but McHallyboo began to elaborate more.

"It's a betting game to a trivia game," the host said. "It's choose or lose. Wanna play?"

"The heck I do," Yoshi said, taking his bag and plopping it upon the table and sitting down. As McHallyboo shuffled a deck, Yoshi leaned in towards Vivian, looking at her pile of chips.

"How much do you have?" Yoshi asked, as Vivian paused for a moment.

"I made a profit of around, seven chips so far," she said, shrugging modestly. "Does that sound good?"

"That's amazing!" Yoshi hissed. "You're probably doing better than both me and Wario. In fact, none of us even know how he's doing. Funny, he's like...avoiding us."

"I don't know," Vivian said, laughing. "I'm not even good at gambling!" McHallyboo finished shuffling the deck, and lifted up the top card.

"Question: What bodily function can reach a speed of 200 miles an hour?" He laid down four cards, and flipped them over.

"A: Clapping, B. Blinking, C. Sneezing, or D. The pumping of your heart. Individually, you can bet a maximum of five chips each round, even on different answers. If you get the right answer, your winnings are doubled. Wrong answer, I keep them all. Choose correctly." Yoshi looked at the cards carefully, while Vivian pondered.

"Do you think it's clapping?" said Yoshi, but Vivian shook her head.

"No...I can't clap 200 miles per hour," she reasoned.

"But it's saying, which COULD reach 200 miles per hour," Yoshi pointed out. "So maybe average people can, just not us."

"I still don't think so," she said, holding a chip in her hand. "Go for whichever." Yoshi thought, then grabbed some of his own chips.

"I'm going to put...three chips on D, the heart, because that answer sounds the most detailed and right," he said, grabbing three chips and placing them on the fourth card, "and...one chip on A, Clapping." With four chips placed, he sat back in his chair, then looked at Vivian. Vivian was still thinking, until she chose.

"I'm just going to go randomly with...sneezing, Choice B," Vivian said, looking completely clueless but putting two chips on the third choice anyway. "Because I know sneezing is mega fast, and it's possible. Final answer." With all chips given, the host flipped over the right choice in one movement: Card C.

"Sneezing," he announced. Vivian looked amazed.

"Darn!" Yoshi said. Vivian looked sad too, but at the same time a little joyful and surprised at her win. While Yoshi got none in return, the host gave two chips to Vivian respectively.

"This game really is luck," McHallyboo shrugged, as he shuffled his deck again.

"Still, a one-fourth chance," Vivian said, denying it.

Yoshi: _Vivian was doing really good at gambling. Even better than me, and though it was a good thing, you still had to be suspicious when you saw her winning all that money. Even Wario wasn't winning that much._

"Grr, I guess this is testing our intelligence too," Yoshi said, looking defeated, but Vivian shook her head.

"No, I think this game is based on luck as well," she reasoned, then added, "Sometimes. I'm not winning that much. And you're smart!"

"Well, thanks," said Yoshi, accepting her compliment. The host grinned.

"Well, another round, shall we?" began McHallyboo, and the other two had no other choice but to agree with him.

* * *

"Hey, you didn't happen to see any leftover chips located around here, did you?" Wario asked with suspicion, going over to a Pianta in custodial clothing. The Pianta leaned against his mop, thinking.

"Yeah, umm, I think I saw a chip or two lying around," he said. "Check over at the mini slot machines, I saw some there. People always tend to get careless."

"All right," he said, keeping the blue chip in his hand, still as confused as ever. He read the message again, on the back of the chip's face.

Wario: _It really did bug me that I had this message and couldn't decipher it. The reason I didn't want to show the others? Maybe it would give me some sort of advantage in the end, and I just had to figure it out myself._

* * *

"Finally!" said Yoshi, sounding as if he had won a fortune at McHallyboo's question.

"The answer was indeed, Tyrannosaurus Rex," the host said, and three chips were rewarded to Yoshi, who laughed.

"Aww, no fair," said Vivian, who had suffered a disadvantage at the question's content. "I lost three chips...well, at least I made a lot earlier, so this really doesn't mean anything at all, does it?"

"Hmm, wait for an art history question," Yoshi said, as Vivian smiled. McHallyboo flipped four more cards, then began with his next question.

"Which of these elements has the highest atomic number?" he read, as they both seemed to groan with disinterest. "A: Dysprosium, B: Uranium, C: Nitrogen, D: Oxygen." The two of them looked at the cards carefully, with less hope.

Yoshi: _These questions were getting harder. But we were getting addicted, so we didn't quit. It was like actual casino betting._

"Doesn't sound like uranium," said Yoshi, staring hard, "because isn't that at the top, and the lowest numbers are on the bottom of the table? Right?"

"Yeah, I'm sure that's right too," said Vivian, looking really hesitant. "I don't think it's nitrogen either."

"It sounds like it could be nitrogen...or dysprosium," Yoshi began again.

"Isn't oxygen at the top?" said Vivian.

Vivian: _We knew that these questions were getting more difficult. I should have known this, and stopped the both of us from betting more, but who could do that?_ _Not even ourselves could stop our willpower. _

"I'm putting...one on dysprosium," said Vivian, and she did so. Yoshi got two chips, and placed them on the same choice as well. Then, he took one chip and placed it on nitrogen.

"All right," said Yoshi, crossing his fingers. "Final answer." McHallyboo looked at his card.

"The correct answer is...uranium."

"No!" The two of them groaned, both with anguish and frustration, but at the same time a small level of amusement. Just then, Wario came from behind them, looking at them with curiosity.

"Hey, nice for you to finally join the crowd," said the host to the arrived player. "There is approximately seven minutes remaining in the game."

"We're doing awful," Yoshi said, twirling and flipping a chip in his hand.

"But we're doing much better than we were in the beginning," Vivian piped in. Yoshi looked confused at Vivian's statement.

"Seven minutes? Enough time to make a lot of cash," said Wario, carefully putting the blue chip into his pocket so the others wouldn't see it. However, one player managed to notice, as she looked intently at the player's back pocket.

Vivian: _Wario was acting really weird, and I saw him in the corner of his eye place something into his pocket. It could have been something, or nothing. Even if he didn't do something like that, he was still fishy and shifting around. I didn't want to bring anything up though._

"What is the capital of Sweden?" said McHallyboo, putting out four cards after reading the question. "Hopefully you won't feel kidnapped with this answer." The choices were the following: A. Warsaw, B. Berlin, C. Stockholm, D. Luxembourg.

"Oh, umm," said Vivian, thinking. "I studied capitals; I drew a detailed map diagram in my art class once of the European countries. So I should be getting this one right."

"Yeah, you better," snorted Wario, surprised at her statement. "Otherwise, that would be a big fail!" Vivian just continued looking at the choices, worriedly.

"Wait, aren't you part Swedish or something?" asked Yoshi, pointing at Wario. Wario coughed, baffled.

"What are you talking about!" he replied, frowning. "I'm Italian. That's my pride country." Yoshi shrugged.

"Oh well, here's my guess," he said, then put two chips on Warsaw. Vivian picked up one of her chips.

"I'm putting one chip on...Stockholm," Vivian said slowly, "just because it sounds like it could be the right answer." Then suddenly, she took it off, then put her chip on Luxembourg instead.

"I think Stockholm is it," said Wario, putting a chip on his choice, then glancing at Vivian. "Final answer...wait, why did you change yours!" He hesitated to take his chip back, but didn't, leaving it there.

"It could be right," Vivian reasoned, though sounded a little uncertain. "Actually...I don't know!" She panicked, then added another chip onto 'Luxembourg'.

"Everyone's final answer?"

"Wait," said Yoshi, as Wario smacked his head. He placed an extra chip on Luxembourg as well.

"Final answer," he said sheepishly. "Just in case."

"I swear, it's Stockholm," Wario said, feeling powerless in words. As McHallyboo went to reveal the correct answer, everyone looked defeated. He went to flip over Card C: Stockholm.

"Oh, I guess not," said Vivian, her voice disappointed. Wario gladly took his two-coin prize, but looked at Vivian.

Wario: _Well, Vivian was doing really good, but then she stopped as we were approaching the end. Maybe it really was all luck, or maybe she was just answering questions wrong on purpose...which would confuse me even more._

* * *

"I'm really having trouble on these late questions," Vivian said, as McHallyboo took two chips from her for her wrong answer.

"Sorry, the answer was, 'A herd of cattle,'" McHallyboo announced. Yoshi jumped up, having gotten the question correct, while Wario only grumbled.

"I still have more chips than you," Wario snorted to Yoshi, who looked back at him with a puzzled face.

"This isn't a contest," Yoshi replied to him, almost forcefully. Wario was going to say something, but then stopped.

"Whatever," Wario replied, as McHallyboo took his last card out and held it in the air.

Wario: _It really was aggravating. I mean, we all knew that we were working together for the team pot, but even still, __we were still fighting for ourselves_. It just almost didn't make sense. Nor did I like it at all.

"There's only one minute remaining," the host told all of them, as their attention became fully focused. "This is the final question." He placed the last set of four cards onto the table, then read the question in his hand.

"Which of these is in the onion genus?" asked McHallyboo, as he flipped over three cards. "A. Eggplant, B. Violet tomato, C. Grapes, D. Garlic." As Yoshi stared carefully, and Vivian looked at the question suspiciously, Wario's mouth was open with knowledge.

"I...know this," said Wario, his voice almost in a laugh. "It's garlic!"

"Are you sure?" said Vivian, holding onto her chips carefully.

"Yeah, positive," said Wario, sounding more insistent.

"I don't think grapes could be it, nor eggplant...and I've never heard of a violent tomato," Yoshi said, looking at the other three cards. "Well, I guess garlic could be it."

"It is," Wario insisted, almost annoyed. "And grape is a fruit, isn't it?"

"So is tomato," Yoshi remembered. "But violet tomato? These are creative choices."

"I'm just going to go with...eggplant," said Vivian, as Wario's mouth dropped open again.

"What! Come on" said Wario, protesting. Yoshi took a chip in his hand, looking as well.

"30 seconds remaining," announced McHallyboo, looking the least nervous out of the three of them.

"All right, I'm trusting you," said Yoshi, placing two chips on 'garlic'.

"Yeah, good move," Wario said, sounding better. Wario took five of his chips, and confidently, he placed it on the same card as well. After a few seconds, Vivian placed a single chip on the card that her peers had bet on.

"You all bet on 'garlic'?" McHallyboo questioned, as all three of them nodded. Suddenly, a casino siren went off, as they all ducked at the sudden sound, all except for the host in the dealer's position of the table. The siren began to slowly fade out, as the host stood up.

"The game is now over! Congratulations!" said McHallyboo, as he began taking out a plethora of casino chips out from under the game table. The players looked surprised, but as they were granted their final wins, they still felt unsure. But in their heads, the final game was over.

"Is that it?" said Yoshi, as the host slowly nodded. He stood up and motioned for the players to give them their bags. Not being able to count their chips in time, the three of them handed their bags to McHallyboo with both satisfaction but troubled looks.

* * *

"So, we had fun confirming your final win values," said McHallyboo, as the players were sitting on a couch in the blue-lighted room of the lobby. The host had three bags of chips in his pockets, as the players only waited to hear the results of their questionably-played mission.

Vivian: _I had no idea how we did, or how I even did alone. I just hope we passed our final mission, because it would be a little heart-breaking if we did fail._

"All right," started the host, and he picked up a first bag from his coat pocket: Vivian's. The host shook it slightly.

"At the end of the fifteen minutes, after starting with 5,000 coins..." started the host, as the players held their breaths. "Vivian, you ended up with..."

"How much?" she asked, covering her face slightly.

"3,600 coins." Her face dropped, looking slightly disappointed. So did the faces of Wario and Yoshi.

"Huh?" Wario said with disbelief. "Vivian, you lost money?" Vivian could only stare at her bag, realizing her loss of money.

Yoshi: _I was actually hoping Vivian would win a lot of cash. She was doing good, but then towards the end she began losing questions one by one. But I know she's smart though. _

"Well, hmm...could have been worse," Yoshi shrugged. "But could have been better too." Vivian nodded.

"I really, really agree," Vivian said whole-heartedly. "I guess we bet just...too much towards the end."

"We haven't won anything," said Wario, looking over at the decreased bag of coins. "In fact, we lost cash." McHallyboo took another bag out of his pocket: Yoshi's.

"How much do you think you made?" asked the host, looking at Yoshi. The player's face looked mixed, holding both hope, but dread.

Yoshi: _I was hoping to have made at least 1,000 coins in profit. Just anything to realize I did good. But in the end...I felt a pit in my stomach._

"In the end, we counted a total of 1,200 coins."

"Whut...you are joking me." Wario laughed out loud.

"You lost over four-fifths of your money," said McHallyboo, smiling a little bit. Yoshi's face was still stunned.

"That's...really bad," Wario said, laughing a little less, "and now...this stinks. We lost more money." His face was more serious, but down as well. Vivian looked at Yoshi apologetically.

Wario: _ So Vivian does bad, and Yoshi does even worse. Tragic, actually. It just doesn't make sense. I thought we all wanted to win money, and here it was, our last game. And yet, we were losing._

Vivian: _I could have stopped Yoshi from betting more, but I felt like we were playing our own games. I can't help but blame myself a little bit. After all, we were still a team._

"I guess we didn't win anything yet at all," Vivian said, her face holding even more disappointment than before, but she hid her sigh.

"I honestly don't think this final mission was worth it," said Yoshi, looking at Vivian only. "We've done better elsewhere, and we both know that." Vivian tried smiling too, with optimism.

"Well, the last bag," said McHallyboo, as he lifted it up. He threw it towards, Wario, who caught it. It was heavier than before.

"Guess how much you made?" the host asked, as Wario only shrugged slowly.

"In the end," the host said, "we counted..." Everyone held their breaths, the hardest than ever before.

"8,200 coins." Vivan smiled big. Yoshi's mouth was agape. Wario looked stunned.

"That's...that's impossible," said Wario, sounding flabbergasted. "Really? No way, McHallyboo!"

Yoshi:_ I couldn't believe it. The question was, __how did Wario manage to make so much money, in that little time that we had? _But even still, I was still happy. 

Vivian: _I barely saw Wario for most of the time in the casino, and he didn't win that much at the Questionnaire table either. So I just couldn't help but...feel strangely suspicious of how much money he made. _

Wario: _Was I really suspicious for winning money? Really now. I won it all fair and square, and it's all going to the team pot anyway. So it's just nonsense. The things people can feel when another player wins._

"So, now you know," finished McHallyboo. "You either did good or bad. But how did the Mole do this game? Did they sabotage, or succeed? Or go somewhere in between to fool you all? After all, the Mole can decide to do anything at this moment. This is indeed the final episode."

"You never know what the Mole's going to do," Vivian said softly.

"There was one more thing that was hidden in this challenge," the host said, and he took out one other object from his pocket: the specially-marked poker chip coin that he had since the airplane ride of the game. The players just looked at him and the unknown object.

"What's that?" asked Yoshi.

"It's the special chip," said McHallyboo, "that was worth 5,000 coins. Had you gotten the clues from the large slot machines, you would have known that if you went up to me and took the chip, or at the least requested it from me, I would have given it to you. So this game was actually worth 20,000 coins." As both Yoshi and Vivian looked dumbfounded, Wario shrugged and looked at his pocket.

Wario: _I knew that clue chip meant something...and I remember seeing McHallyboo show his own chip numerous times before we got into the casino. Yet, I failed to fit the puzzle together. In the end, I really did lose._

"All right, well," said McHallyboo. He took out a calculator and began pressing buttons, but the players knew that he already had the total value in his mind, stored.

"After your time in the casino, you had gained an official..." The players looked at the host, their ears fully open.

"Negative 2,000 coins," said McHallyboo. The only sound heard was that of the nearby blazing torch and the sound of the slow running paths of water surrounding them, but nothing else. The players didn't make a sound, as the final mission statement was announced to them.

"I'm sorry. You have lost your final game." Even in his voice, there was the slight sound of sorriness. The players' faces were glum, not only from hearing the value won for their last game, but realizing that they themselves were sorry as well that the game had ended in such a loss. It was the last thing that any of them wanted to hear.

"Well," started Yoshi, shifting his boots and looking at the floor. "We tried, right? Didn't we?" Vivian faced McHallyboo.

"Yes, we did try," said Vivian, looking at the host, who looked back at them. "And that's all that counts. We didn't lose. I don't care if we lost the money, or did a terrible job. But we played a good game, and that's all there is to it. Right?"

"Yeah," said Wario, sounding a little down too, but at the same time, feelings slightly up. "And even though we lost, I think we still played a great game." He looked at Yoshi, who looked at Vivian, who was looking at the host strongly. McHallyboo himself tried to hide his smile.

"Wise words," said the host, as he grinned slightly. "And I'd like to celebrate with you all. However, the fact can't be denied that your value is now less than last year's. And unfortunately, this was your final mission."

**TOTAL POT VALUE**

_238,000 COINS_

"Hehe...ha," laughed Yoshi, suddenly laughing. "Our value...it's off balance now!" They all laughed suddenly, and McHallyboo laughed too.

"Still a hefty value, and you can't deny that," said McHallyboo.

"It is," admitted Vivian. "It'd be such a gift anyway, for anyone to win."

"And one of you will be winning it," the host said to them. "Very soon." The thought was inconceivable to all of them. But even still, they all felt a moment of success.

"So, now that we're done, where do we go now?" said Wario, looking around the lobby and grinning. "Is it all over? Looks like it to me."

"Yep, it is," said the host, walking them over slowly to the other side of the floor and out of the hotel's lobby. "I will now bring you all to your hotel rooms for the night." He smiled.

"Hotel rooms?" Vivian repeated. The host nodded, a little slower than usual, but never the less he led the three players toward a set of stairs, going upstairs to the second floor of Hotel Delfino and whatever it held for them. Outside, the sun was slowly beginning to set.

* * *

"It's dark," said Yoshi, as they reached the second floor. At the stairs' top, a floor was visible, and so were a plethora of other doors that led to their own separate sleeping quarters.

"All right...Vivian, your room," said McHallyboo, pointing to one door on the other side of them. As Vivian walked up to it, McHallyboo nodded slowly, as she entered.

"Good night," he said, as Vivian nodded back, but with a smile still on her face.

Vivian: _This game had been quite amazing. Even with our last loss, it was great to know that I've come such a long way. So I was finally happy it was ending for me._

Going up another flight of stairs, the two others were brought to the very top floor of Hotel Delfino. On the third floor, a pool was visible through glass on the right side, and once again, room doors were present. This time, McHallyboo lead Yoshi to a room at the other side of the floor, the direct location of where Vivian's would be, except a floor above it.

"Good night, Yoshi," said the host, as Yoshi smiled tiredly, but still with energy.

Yoshi: _It's been so much fun, and I'll miss a lot of it. A lot of it I'll forget, like the drama and failures we had to endure. But in the end, I'll look back at this game with happy thoughts._

On the same third floor, Wario was led away, to a room at the very end of the path that went around the exposed square area of air.

"Good night, Wario," said McHallyboo, and they both shook each others' hands firmly with gratitude.

Wario: _Well, it's finally the end. The last mission was played, and I couldn't wait for the final quiz to begin. My fingers were dancing with anticipation. But at that very moment, I had to wait. But I couldn't believe it: it was finally over._

Wario entered his room, and then before he could close it himself, he realized that the host had already shut it for him. Confused, he simply just walked forwards into his room, seeing two beds before him. He flopped onto one, and let out a sigh of relaxation.

"Well, at least...huh?" His eyes lingered towards the entrance he had just entered from, and when he looked closely at the door that led to his exit, he saw something unusual above the metal knob of his door. There were a series of digit pads. As he tried to turn his knob, he realized something

"What...the? My door's locked?"

* * *

"I'm locked inside, let me out!" Yoshi shouted, realizing that his hotel door wouldn't open up. He banged on the front of his door, then stopped as he heard the sound of footsteps walking outside.

"McHallyboo!" he called out with relief, but after a second, he realized that the footsteps were not walking on the outside tiled floor, but going downstairs. He turned his door knob again, then stopped when his eyes fell on the digital lock before him.

"A lock," he realized. He looked up, at a messages pasted on the back face of his door.

* * *

"Hello?" called out Vivian, putting her ear next to the door. "Is anyone there? I'm trapped in my room!" Vivian, too, had noticed that not only would her door refuse to open, but an electronic lock was blocking her way from escaping. She looked up at her door to read a message, in small letters but hidden on the same page as the fire escape on the back of her door:

_**To the players: Welcome to your final mission of The Mole: Saboteur's Island.**_

_**You find yourself trapped. But everything around you will help set you free. **_

_**Escape the hotel in under 90 minutes. You will need each other. **_

_**Only one guess is allowed. You guess wrong, the game is lost. **_

_**If you meet me outside of the hotel before the time limit, I will grant you your final win: 50,000 coins.**_

_**Good luck. This is your final game. **_

_** -Your host, Mason Coles Hallyboo**_

"I knew it," she said quietly. "There was another game for us." She turned to see the important object right besides her: a telephone. Before she went to it though, she looked at the map of the hotel's fire escape, noticing something on its back.

"Is that writing?" she thought, seeing dampness on the back of the paper. She tore it off from her door and flipped the paper over.

* * *

"Phone," said Yoshi, turning to the telephone besides him. Suddenly, his own phone rang, catching him off guard. He picked it up immediately.

"Hello?"

"Yoshi!" Vivian said, looking at the 'Fire Escape' paper in her hand. "I thought this would work. I got your number."

"Wait, how'd you know my room number?" Yoshi said, confused.

"There's a clue on the back of the 'Fire Escape' paper," she said, looking at where it said, 'Yoshi's Number: 100-208'. "But honestly, I guess I could have gotten your number on my own somehow. I guess I cheated."

"That's cool," Yoshi replied, then looked at the lock on his door. "Vivian, I'm locked in my room."

"I am too," Vivian said, reassuringly. "And we probably need to find combinations to unlock these digital locks on our doors."

"On the paper, it says, '_But everything around you will help set you free,'" _Yoshi told her, reading off the message on his door. "What do you think that means?"

"Well, I can only assume..." started Vivian, looking at the same paper in her hand as well, "that our combinations are hidden someplace in our rooms. We have to find them in order to activate the locks on our doors, and get out."

"That's a crazy thought," Yoshi said, sounding dazed, "but there's nothing else to believe, is there?"

"And I also think," Vivian said, looking at her door message fearfully, "that we only have one guess on the combination. Or else it locks forever."

"Yikes," Yoshi added. "Let's be careful, right?"

"What's in your room?" Vivian asked, as Yoshi looked around his. A third of his room was almost like a kitchen counter, full with a sink, but he saw a large metal object on the opposite side of his room that caught his eye: a refrigerator.

"A fridge," said Yoshi. "Do you think Wario's locked also?"

"I think so," said Vivian, shrugging to herself. "I'm not sure, but if anything, we need to find our combinations. Search your room! I'll search mine, and you tell me what you find. I'll do the same, but later."

"I'm going to go food-hunting then," said Yoshi, looking at the refrigerator with determination. "Try getting Wario. I'll get back to you."

"Sure," said Vivian, as she hung up. "Wario...I wonder how he's doing right now."

* * *

"I'm going...to get...that host," Wario huffed, looking at the entirety of his room after reading the message on his door. There were two beds in his room, like any other image from another hotel room, but against a wall of his room was a large bookshelf, filled to the edge with various books of various sizes.

"Way too many," he commented. Scanning the books with his eyes, his eyes wandered until he noticed that the table near his window held a mechanical device upon it, an object that seemed out of the ordinary: a radio.

Wario: _I didn't even know what was happening. But I could only figure there was some crazy game going on. And to support that fact, my room was as suspicious as ever, and from the message on the paper, I learned that 50,000 coins was at stake at that very moment._

"Hmm," he said, flicking the radio on. "Maybe some music won't hurt." As he pressed on the power button, he only heard static, as he winced back.

"Ouch," he said, grumbling, turning it off as fast as he could. He turned to look at his room even more, then stopped. Disguised as one of the pillows on his bed was a white, fluffy object, shaped as a certain farm animal.

"Moo," said Wario, unamused and grabbing the cow plushie.

* * *

Yoshi opened his fridge, stepping back from the intense cold air as it opened up. Big enough to store himself in it, Yoshi looked inside and saw a plethora of drink cartons and containers. He looked at them, his eyebrows furrowing.

"All drinks," he noticed, "But no food?" Seeing a carton of orange juice, he grabbed it from the shelf and began reading its label. After looking at it, he sighed, putting it down and thinking.

Yoshi: _There were too numbers on one label. Guessing the right code out of hundreds of numbers, it was impractical. There had to be something else to the game that would lead us to our right numbers._

* * *

"This game will be difficult," Vivian sighed, talking to no one in particular but expressing her feelings out. "But I have to play it." Sitting down on her bed, Vivian had turned on her television manually, looking at the static before her with cluelessness.

"That's pretty," she said, looking at a single painting placed on the wall above the TV, its image displaying an antique-looking house. Standing up, she noticed a remote control sitting at her feet. She picked it up.

"Maybe this does something," she said, pointing the device towards her television nonchalantly.

Vivian: _The remote control had no company label on it, so I immediately knew something was up with it. I was trying anything I could in my room. Even the walls of the room looked suspicious to me._

"Umm...Channel 1?" she tried, pressing down on the button. Nothing happened, as she pressed on the 'On' button once again to turn it off. However, the television remained on, its static ringing in the air.

* * *

"Wha!" Wario jumped at the sudden sound that was ignited behind him. Turning around, he saw that the radio in his room had turned on, the static once again filling his ears.

"Darn radio!" he said, pressing down on the same button he had pressed beforehand to turn it off. As he turned around, his phone suddenly rang, as he ran over to the side of his bed to pick it up for the first time.

"Hey! Who's this?" Wario asked.

"It's me, Vivian!" Vivian spoke. "So glad I found you...I got your number, called you, and well, I guess it worked."

"Thank goodness you found me," Wario said, sounding more relieved in his voice than anything. "I thought I was trapped in the middle of nowhere, with no one around!"

"We're all stuck, and this is our final mission," Vivian explained, "but what we have to do is try and solve our door combinations." Wario looked at his own door, nodding, but still confused.

"Yeah, I've been trying to get somewhere," said Wario, picking up the cow plushie on his bed.

"Wario, watch out," Vivian warned. "We can only guess on our doors once. So...only touch the lock combination digits when you're sure."

"I figured that too," Wario said, looking a little uneasy on the fact, but nodding. "There's this weird radio on my room that suddenly turned on by itself."

"Hmm, that's weird," said Vivian, acknowledging the fact. "Anything else in your room?"

"Umm, this cow plushie," said Wario, looking at it and shrugging. "There's a bookshelf with way too many books in it, so I'll try looking there for something. But other than that, that's it."

"Does your radio have buttons on it?" Vivian suggested. "Try changing the station by pressing buttons."

"I tried, but nothing works," Wario said, looking at it. "It's just annoying static. I can't get it to work and for all I know, it's a red herring."

"Well, it has to mean something," Vivian said with thought. "So does that cow."

* * *

"Red Passion Fruit Juice," read Yoshi, taking out containers out of his fridge one by one. "Chuckola-Cola, Moo-Moo Milk...that's odd." He stood up, closing the refrigerator door and exploring his room even more.

"There has to be more to that fridge," he said, sitting on his bed and looking at it carefully. "There's always something obvious..." Turning to his side counter, his face changed immediately. The bottom shelf was partially open, as if someone was inviting him to look into it. He got off his bed and walked over to it, then opened it up completely. Inside was a metal key, laying in the drawer's compartment.

"Yes!" he said, his voice triumphant as he grabbed it into his hand. But before he could explore further, he noticed something in the corner of his room that he didn't see before. Going up to it cautiously, he saw that it was a bucket, with a paintbrush placed inside of it along with an unidentified liquid that made Yoshi even more curious.

"Color-less paint?" he realized, seeing that the paint looked more clear than anything.

* * *

"Huh, what could be here?" Vivian had entered her bathroom, and saw what looked like another hotel guest's toiletry items scattered on her bathroom counter, except in neat fashion. She went through the items, seeing countless bottles and brands of shampoos, lotions, spray bottles, and conditioners.

"Sea Island Cotton perfume...hmm," she said, sniffing it a bit and finding it relaxing. She turned to her shower curtain, pulling it open and looking inside. Nothing else was visible.

"All the shampoo bottles shouldn't be near the bathroom sink, should it?" she pondered. "Why are they on the counter instead?" She turned the dial on her shower on, only to discover that no water was coming out of the tub faucet. Before she could experiment more, her phone rang, as she immediately ran out of the bathroom to pick it up.

"Hello? Wario or Yoshi?"

"It's Yoshi!" said Yoshi, panting. "Look, I found a key in my drawer. I think it's a clue."

"That's great," said Vivian, sounding surprised. "Try it on your door! Maybe it'll open."

"All right," said Yoshi, reaching his hand over to his hotel room door. Crossing his fingers, he saw the key hole of his door still present, as he inserted the key inside. He twisted left, then twisted right, but nothing was clicked. He tried again, but to no avail.

"The key has to work," Vivian said surely. "Did you open the door? Twist the knob too at the same time!" Yoshi tried again, but again, nothing clicked.

"Can't!" said Yoshi, trying to budge his door open. "It won't fit. We can't win this until we find a clue of some sort."

"A clue?" Vivian said, looking around her own room, sounding mystified. "I'm just so baffled by everything around me." Vivian looked at the painting on her wall, staring at it carefully.

"Do you know how Wario's doing?" asked Yoshi, turning around to look at the whole of his bedroom even more. Besides the other odd objects that were placed around him, there was only one bed in his room, small but comfortable enough for one person.

"This doesn't seem like a regular bedroom at all," he realized. He looked at his refrigerator: the door was open and cold air was seeping into his room.

"I was just talking to him a minute ago...he seems fine," Vivian commented, then added, "but confused as well. I hope he's doing okay though. He was trying to search his bed sheets, I think." Yoshi tried reaching the door of the refrigerator, but was stopped by the length of the phone's cord.

"Hang up and talk to him," said Yoshi, annoyed. "I want to search more. I won't be able to search and talk with you at the same time. The phone's cord is too short."

"I'm sure the producers had something to do with that phone placement," said Vivian, shaking her head but smiling at the game's intelligence. She hung up, and before she could dial for Wario's number, the phone rang again. Confused, she picked it up.

"Hello, Yoshi?"

"Yoshi? It's me!" came Wario's voice, sounding tired. Wario was holding the stuffed animal cow in one of his hands, and the phone in his other.

"Umm, did you get any success?" said Vivian. Wario looked around his room: he had turned his pillows inside-out, and his entire mattress for one of his beds had been flipped over and moved off, courtesy of his hands. But Wario just shook his head.

"I can't seem to find anything," Wario said, sounding baffled by the whole predicament. "Maybe we're not even doing the right thing."

"I'm sure we are, somehow," said Vivian, looking towards her door. "I mean, this is our final mission, right?"

"Wait a second, I got...something..." said Wario, feeling the inside of the sheets of the bed he had moved off from its original position. His hands came upon a rectangular-shaped container, as he pulled it out from hiding. It was a blank DVD case.

"Hey, look what I found," said Wario, sounding victorious. "A hidden DVD! Under my bed sheets!"

"Really? What's it do?" said Vivian, curious at his finding and sounding interested too. "Try playing it."

"Okay, but I'll have to hang up," he said, and he did so. Walking over to his television, he was surprised to see that a DVD player was located right under his TV pedestal. Taking the DVD out of its cover-less container, Wario inserted it into the television, and sat back.

"This better work," he said, unknowing of its contents. When the TV flashed on, Wario looked almost hypnotized at whatever was being displayed to him.

"**INSTA-TAN!**" shouted the loud MC-like voice from the television monitor, as swirling abstract images of yellow and orange filled the screen along with the product's brand name. "**COMES IN ALL 7 SCENTS AND COLORS. BUY YOUR OWN BOTTLE AT YOUR OWN CONVENIENCE STORE! Results on individuals may vary.**"

"What-the-word?" Wario said, scratching his head as the disc finished. Suddenly, the noise from his radio started again, even more deafening than before.

* * *

Vivian flipped the remote in her room on and pressed random buttons once again, but she only sighed. Her phone rang.

Vivian: _Nothing was working. My TV worked manually, but the remote didn't control it. When I checked the remote control itself, there were batteries in it. I knew they were alive because I plugged them into a nearby lamp, and they worked. So the remote wasn't the one broken..._

"Hey Vivian, so I got that DVD working," said Wario, talking into the phone.

"Oh, that's great," she replied, still looking around her own room with worry. "What does it show?"

"All it showed was some sort of weird advertisement," said Wario. "It was like, for a tanning bottle."

"Tanning bottle?" she repeated, then she lightened up. "What was the name?" Wario turned to the paused television.

"Insta...Tan?" Wario read. Vivian immediately looked towards her open bathroom door: among the various beauty bottles and various brands, a single orange can was visible on the counter that stuck out to her immediately: _Insta-Tan._

"Wario! There's a bottle called, 'Insta-Tan' on my bathroom counter!" Vivian informed him. "Do you think that's it?"

"Yes, I think so," Wario said, grinning. "I bet there's the combination on it! Or something." Vivian nodded, then stopped, hearing the static in Wario's background.

Vivian: _All of a sudden, it made sense. I just had to put the clues together._

"Wario, let me try something else," she said. "You said that the radio in your room couldn't be controlled, right?"

"Yeah?" Wario replied. "Why?" With the remote control for the TV in her hand, Vivian pressed down on the 'On' button, except this time, it would normally turn an object off. Suddenly, the static of Wario's radio become silent, as Wario stared at it.

"Did you...just do that?" Wario said, sounding stunned.

"I think our rooms are very interconnected," she replied with realization, and smiling a little.

* * *

"Whoa," said Yoshi, pulling something out from under his bed. Digging his hand in, he realized that he had found a book-shaped object under his lone bed, as he looked at its title: How To Build A Hydro Pipe To A Designated Place.

"Nice, but what's this for?" he said, opening it. On the first page, he found a picture of the kitchen-like side of his room, besides the refrigerator. The lone sink in his room was pictured on the page, as he turned to look at it.

Yoshi: _I felt like this was our intelligence test. Everything we've worked for in this game, it was finally being tested to us in this final game. It was as intense as heck._

Yoshi turned to his fridge, looking at the magnets that littered its front for the first time. A series of letters were present, stuck to its front via magnets. He took them off, put all of them on the ground of his carpet, and looked at them carefully once the letters were all gathered.

"L, E, S, C, H, A, R, C, K, E, N, S, D, I," he said, reading each letter, and now his face was determined. "Let's anagram this."

* * *

"Okay, so my remote controls your radio," Vivian realized, pressing more buttons, randomly on her remote. "But the only thing is, all the channels I try don't even work. I think we need the right channel number."

"Yeah," said Wario, hitting the radio on its head. "So I really don't know what to do next, because we've hit a blocked road. But, what does the tanning bottle spray say in your room?"

"There's nothing else on it," said Vivian, disappointed. "I looked inside, but there's only actual liquid." She looked at her door again, and then back at her phone base.

"Hey, you ever tried talking to Yoshi?" Vivian suggested. "You guys should talk, and see maybe you guys are interconnected somehow. I'll just be here, experimenting with my tanning bottle."

"Sounds like a plan," said Wario, hanging up, as he looked over at his bookshelf and its scattered books. He sighed, going over to it, forgetting all about calling Yoshi as he stared miserably at the bookshelf stuck in his sleeping boundaries.

Wario: _With over 500 books in that shelf...I really wasn't going to search through them all. It would be useless._

* * *

"Hey Vivian!" said Yoshi, picking up his phone. But he frowned, hearing someone else for the first time that game.

"Heh, wrong person," said Wario, shaking his head, the phone in his hand. "It's Wario, and I got your number now. Look, tell me what's in your room. Maybe I can find something useful from what you tell me."

"Okay, got it," Yoshi confirmed, and he turned to the center of his hotel room floor, his pile of all potential clue objects piled up. "So far, this is what I've found in my room: there's a metal key, a book-like folder labeled, How To Build A Hydro Pipe To A Designated Place, a fridge in my room with a lot of drinks in it, but no food, and a bucket of color-less paint was in my room corner." Wario pondered these objects, and after a few seconds, he shook his head.

"I really can't make use of any of that," said Wario, looking at his own room. "Sorry. I mean...if I was actually there, maybe I could help a bit. Try thinking more, huh?" Yoshi sighed.

"Oh, wait," Yoshi said, remembering his fridge magnets. "There are magnet letters here that I'm trying to decipher. I think they're either an anagram or a message! For something."

"I really don't think those would help me either," said Wario, as Yoshi sighed again.

Wario: _So there was something we were missing. And I had a feeling that a lot of the stuff in my room were connected to the others. My only regret? Not realizing this sooner enough._

"Well, what's in your room?" Yoshi asked back.

"Hmm, if I were to tell you, it'd be a chockful," Wario replied, "but there's a TV, a DVD player, a DVD inside it for a spray tan commercial, two enormous beds, sheets, a cow stuffed animal, a book shelf with too many books, and this radio that just won't shut up, which I'm now suspicious Vivian controls with a remote in her own bedroom. Or at least we assume."

"Oh, well," said Yoshi, amused. "Those are some pretty funny...wait, did you say a cow stuffed animal?"

"Yeah," said Wario, looking at the plushie in his hand and shrugging, his face perplexed. "Why? I mean, it's just a plushie, isn't it?" There was silence.

"Hold on a second," Yoshi said, and he hung up. Yoshi immediately went to his fridge, uncertain at first, but then opened it, letting cold air flow into his room again.

"Cow stuffed animal," he said, searching through the bottles in his refrigerator. "Could that mean...Moo-moo milk?" At last, after pulling out bottle after bottle, he found the one container he was looking for.

"There's nothing on this!" Looking at the label of the milk carton, besides the brand's name and a picture of a cow, no other text or images were revealing. But as Yoshi examined the bottle once more, he saw one more imprinted piece of writing on the bottom corner of the bottle that caught his eye: the expiration date.

**_10-18-08_. **

"Expired three years ago...it can't be," Yoshi decided. Determined, he stood up, bottle in his hand as he walked over to the door of his hotel room. His fingers went over the cold keys of his digital lock, as he began pressing down digits.

Yoshi: _I really was at the end of my rope for answers. I was typing in numbers from a milk carton, but even still...something compelled me to keep on going and punch in those numbers. Maybe I was wrong, or right. But I only had one guess, and this was it. I had to decide._

"Ten," he said, his fingers pressing down on the buttons as his other hand held the bottle of milk. "Eighteen. Zero." He went to press one more final button, his eyes closed.

"Eight." Even when he typed in the last number of the digital code, Yoshi still shook his head, having no hope for the event that was to happen a second later.

**_CLICK! _**

His eyes wide open, Yoshi saw his hotel door open up, fully unlocked, as even more cold air seeped into his room.

"WARIO! VIVIAN! I'M OUTSIDE!"

* * *

His voice so loud, Wario turned around in his own room to face his own door, stunned for a moment.

"Wait," Wario said, flabbergasted, talking to Vivian on the phone. "Did I just hear...Yoshi shouting?"

"From where?" Vivian asked, looking confused. "I don't know what you're talking about, sorry."

"I think he might be outside his room," he said, and he was right. As Yoshi looked at the floor he was on, he became baffled, due to the fact that he never saw Wario sequestered. Never the less, he ran as fast as he could through the floor, yelling.

"Hey, here!" Wario said, banging on his own door. Yoshi stopped, then ran to the noise at the end of the third floor, to the door at the very end of the row he was in. Wario banged again.

"Wario?" Yoshi asked, standing in front of his door.

"Hey! You're out of your room!" said Wario, a little flabbergasted. "Nice going. How'd you get your lock open anyway?"

"Milk carton," Yoshi said excitedly, through the door. "I followed your cow stuffed animal clue. The expiration date, actually, was fake on the milk carton. I just entered it, and whala. Click!" Wario's face looked confused.

"All right, well," Wario replied, "we still need to get out of our own rooms! And just because you're out doesn't mean you're done. You have to still go back to your room and get more clues, right?" Yoshi nodded eagerly, though Wario couldn't see him.

"This is like, our last teamwork effort," Yoshi said, smiling light-heartedly. "I'll do my best. Just give me some slack, yah?"

"Get that anagram!" Wario called out, hearing his footsteps disappear. As he realized he was alone again, Wario sighed, looking at his bookshelf with aggravation. He slowly walked up to it, grabbing a first book, putting it down, and then grabbing a second book.

"Is my combination really here?" he said with disbelief. Before he could let out an umpteenth grunt of frustration, his phone rang, as he picked it up.

"Hi, Wario," Vivian said, sounding a little happier. "I heard that Yoshi is out of his room!"

"I know," said Wario, grinning. "That's great! Thanks for reminding us that we had to work together, Vivian."

"Well, we want to win this, right?" Vivian said, shrugging. "Yoshi's out. So let's just keep this up."

"Now we just have to get out ourselves, right?" said Wario, happier. "I knew we would get this mission done in time." Vivian's voice changed, as her face turned worried.

"Well, actually," said Vivian, her voice sounding less happier than before. "I found this clock under one of my seat cushions. And...I really don't think it's a real clock at all."

"Huh?" said Wario. Vivian only looked at the numbers on her clock carefully.

"It's a timer for our final game," she said, sounding even more worried. "And we've lost over half of our time already." Wario gave out a small sound of frustration, but only spoke more into his telephone.

"Well, what else can we do but do what we've always done before?" Wario said. "Panic." Vivian smiled, and then looked at her clock again, still with apprehension but with small hope as well.

**44 MINUTES REMAINING**

The timer for their final game was counting down. In less than an hour, all would be finished. It was up to the Mole to choose what to do, and the other players to either go against the Mole or work with the game's saboteur to the end in order to succeed.

* * *

**And just two parts left! ****The players play their last mission of mystery and intelligence within Sirena beach, with determination! And with the Mole present, can they really win this last game? What other shock might come in store for them?** All will be answered, next chapter!

** I can't thank you readers all enough! Really, you make this story keep going and going, and I don't want this to end at all :( But I'll know that you guys have really made it possible for me, so thank you all so much :) You guys are so amazing! FREE MOLE FOOD FOR EVERYONE, NYA?**

**Just two parts more. ****It's up to the Mole and their two companions to solve the final moments of this vacation! And very soon, all will end.** Stay tuned...


	37. The Ultimate Opponent

**So I had a dream of this final mission last night. It was so vivid. But I wasn't a certain player or person at all. I guess I must have been the camera man...who knows? But then I woke and finished this.**

**The last game continues! :) Things come closer to its end! What other surprises could be in store? **

* * *

**_ Episode 8 (Part 4) _**

_ Only a small amount of time was left until the final mission of the game's journey was over. It was a race against time to escape Hotel Delfino._

**ROOM 210**

After a few seconds of trying, it became apparent that the metal key wouldn't unlock any room door in the hotel, as Wario's groan was heard loud through the door's front.

"Does it open?" he asked, even a little hopeful.

"Nope!" Yoshi replied.

"I guess I need a combination to open my door then?" Wario said with a heavy grunt. Yoshi thought for a second.

"Maybe this metal key isn't meant for your door," said Yoshi. "If I opened my door through a combination, then yours should open through a combination too, right?"

"But the thing is, where is my combination anyway?" Wario said, a little annoyed. "I'm pretty sure that key's a red herring, by the way. Doesn't unlock anything."

"Possibly," Yoshi replied. "Hurm...I'll go back to my room. And search for more."

"All right, and it's time to search my bookshelf," Wario said, giving in, then added, "I'll open up every single one of these five-hundred books, and look for my final, last clue." He laughed, and as he heard Yoshi go back to his own room, he groaned.

Wario: _We only had forty minutes left in the mission. I knew that I had to move, instead of just rely on other people. We all had to move. Otherwise, we'd all be crummy from a game loss, just like we were from that Casino mission. And that didn't end well. For me, at least._

* * *

**39 MINUTES REMAINING **

As the clock ticked more, Vivian still held the crucial bottle of tan spray in her hands, looking down at it even more with a perplexed face. She turned to look at the painting above her television, admiring it slightly, but still felt scared in the bottom of her heart.

Vivian: _I was really frightened. Not only cause I was confused out of my mind in this mission, but because we were always under tight situations throughout this game, and I thought I was used to them. But now here I was, in the final episode, holding my panic in for the final game._

"Insta-Tan," said Vivian, sitting down onto her armchair cushion forcefully. "If only...what's...this under my seat?" Shifting in her seat again, she noticed something small yet peculiar with her position, as she stood up and stared at her seat cushion with a sudden feeling. Lifting the top cushion below her, she noticed a hidden object that made her eyes widen.

"A small box!" she realized. "A new clue?" With new realization, she saw that the only way to open it, in order to obtain whatever was enclosed within the container, was to insert a single item into its front: a key.

* * *

"Archcsel." Discovering that the magnet letters were different shades of red, Yoshi separated them all into two different piles.

**A, R, H, C, S, E, L - I, C, K, E, N, S, D,**

"C...ch...ar?" Thinking hard, he moved the six letters around and then stared at the other set of letters.

Yoshi: _The game was like a chain reaction. One clue would lead to another. We just had to get the correct order in order to escape._

"Chickens," he said, laughing a little bit. Suddenly, his phone rang, as he answered it.

"It's me," said Vivian, speaking into her phone with an urgent voice. "I think you should come here right now. I found something really important!"

"That's great!" Yoshi said excitedly. "What is it?"

"Well," Vivian said, "I'll tell you later when you come down here." Yoshi shrugged.

"All right, be right there. In a sec." Vivian smiled.

"Oh, but bring your key too!" Vivian called out, as she put down the phone and waited.

"Got it!" Yoshi rushed out, his feet racing and the key tight in his hand. Vivian waited, mapping the plan in her mind.

* * *

"Books...clues...no clues...books," Wario said, pulling out more books with annoyance. He was pulling out books at a faster rate all of a sudden out of his bookshelf.

"What's, photographs?" he said, surprised at an extra finding of various papers hidden in his shelf. Once he put them out on the floor, he looked at them and realized that several photographs had been hidden in his bookshelf, as he looked with squinted eyes at them all.

Wario: _Maybe I should have looked in my bookshelf earlier. I admit, I was revealing more clues in my own room than we were all uncovering as a whole._

"Yes, more confusing pictures," gruffed Wario, but he studied them anyway. One photo showed a picture of a metal key, as he recognized it immediately as an item in Yoshi's hand. But the other photo displayed something odd, as if it was a metal object being pictured that curved endlessly. Inspecting it closely, he realized it was the inside of a metal pipe.

"Huh?" he said, seeing the last picture of a bathtub, empty, with no visible shampoo bottles present on its counters.

* * *

"Yoshi, is that you?" Vivian said, stopping her actions suddenly and walking slowly to her hotel room door. She looked through the eye hole and smiled, both with surprise and relief.

"I'm here!" Yoshi called out, looking through the eye hole also. "Can you hear me? I ran from downstairs."

"I can hear you clearly, don't worry," she said to him, and then turned around. In the center of her room was the small box that she had uncovered, small and black-colored, but on its front, a visible keyhole.

"What do you want me to do?" Yoshi asked. Vivian faced the door again.

"Slide the metal key under my door," Vivian instructed. "Just give it to me. I know what to do, because, well, there's a box here." Yoshi nodded, bending down and attempting to do what he was instructed. However, after a few moments, he stood back up again, as Vivian saw his troubled face through the eye hole.

"Does it go under the door?" Vivian asked, trying to sound hopeful.

"No," said Yoshi, shaking his head.

"Well, try again," Vivian suggested. "It's just a key sliding under the door. Maybe it can fit. Push harder." Yoshi tried to insert the key under the door once again, but after a while, he shook his head.

"Doesn't even fit," Yoshi confirmed. Vivian's face looked confused.

Vivian: _I wanted Yoshi to keep trying to insert that key under that door, because maybe I was in false denial of it not working. It was a bad feeling._

"We can still do this," she told him. "As long as I get out of my door in time, and Wario can open his door in time too, then we'll win this. I felt like your combination was the easiest to find, and ours are a little bit harder. Well, mine might be easier than Wario's to find. Or vice versa."

"So you're saying that you think there's an inevitable order of us escaping?" Yoshi asked.

"Yeah, maybe the mission is made that way to play," said Vivian. Yoshi looked at his key.

"I still think this is meant for something," he thought.

"Hmm, well, it does seem coincidental, the fact that right in my room, there's a box with a keyhole," Vivian speculated further with agreement.

Vivian: _We both felt like that was one more vital component. I felt that there was one more secret in the game that we were missing, in order to get out._

"Well, I guess the key's supposed to be for something else, then," Vivian said, her hopes going down a bit. "I guess...I'll search for my own key. Just go ahead. I'll be here on my on." Yoshi nodded, a little disappointed but rushed back upstairs to his own room. Vivian continued to examine her box with a heavier sigh.

**33 MINUTES REMAINING**

* * *

Wario: _I felt so separated from the others. For all I know, they were both outside, celebrating their success. And I was doing my own work! But successfully, at least._

Wario frowned, looking at his own shower in his bathroom, and then looking back at the photograph in his hand. It resembled nothing like the one pictured in the photograph he had discovered, as he closed his shower curtain and exited the bathroom.

"What does this mean?" he said, squinting at the picture of the pipe layout photograph of twisting metal. He then stopped.

"Oh...wait, a pipe...is that folder title in Yoshi's room!"

* * *

_How To Build A Hydro Pipe To A Designated Place _

Yoshi looked at the mysterious folder in his room. He turned to the milk carton besides him, the one that held the crucial clue to escaping his room.

"Maybe this has more clues," he said, shaking it and chuckling, but overall, desperate. He turned over to the sink, the carton still in his hand, as he poured the contents of the fresh milk down his sink drain. Little did he know, a clue in another room would appear that would help them become one step closer to succeeding in their game.

* * *

**_Drip...drip...drip..._**

Vivian immediately turned around, stunned at first from the sudden sound, but stood up quickly. From her bathroom, the sounds of more drips began to appear, as she walked into her bathroom slowly.

"I thought my shower didn't work," she said to herself, laughing a bit. Seeing her shower curtain draped over the vexation of the sound, she pulled it open and looked at her bathtub with a gasp.

"White...milk?" she said, looking as baffled as ever at the drink that was coming out of her tub faucet.

* * *

"Here," said Wario, sliding his discovered photographs under his door to the other side, as Yoshi grabbed them. "I don't know in the faintest idea what these mean, but I think they aren't clues for my room. So I figured these have no purpose for me and would just throw me off."

"Thank you," said Yoshi, studying them. Seeing their contents, Yoshi's eyes lit up with discovery, just as Wario's phone rang. He answered it.

"Oh, Vivian," Wario said, listening to Vivian speak more. His eyes narrowed with confusion.

"Wha...what's that?" Wario continued to speak. "There's...no way...say that again? I heard you wrong." Wario's eyes widened even more.

"There's milk coming out of your tub faucet, huh?" Yoshi's attention was suddenly caught, as he banged on the door, but Wario ignored him.

"All right...well...I really don't see what that means," said Wario. "I know Yoshi had milk though...Yoshi, stop banging for a second, will ya! ...I still have that cow plushie. Maybe I have to tear it open and find a clue." By the time he had hung up, Yoshi had already ran back to his room.

"Thank goodness I'm not out yet," Wario commented, hearing Yoshi disappear. "I'd be useless, going back and forth."

* * *

"So, the milk coming from my tub...you really think that came from your room?" Vivian said, hearing the explanation from Yoshi but sounding a bit skeptical. "I don't see how that's possible. It could be anything." She looked through her bathroom door at her bathtub, but before her very eyes, she saw the mysterious bathtub dripping out nothing but Moo-Moo Farm brand milk.

"Try tasting it," Yoshi suggested. "If it's Moo-Moo Farm milk, it's milk."

"Umm..." Vivian said, looking at the milk cautiously coming from her tub faucet. "It's all right. So now what do we do?"

"I think there's an interconnected passageway between my kitchen sink and your bathtub," Yoshi concluded, looking at the folder title on his ground. "I'm pretty sure." His eyes lit up.

"The key," Yoshi said, his eyes shooting open suddenly. "If I can get it to you through the kitchen drain, we can win this."

Yoshi: _Even though it all made sense, there were still risks. We all needed confidence. I needed confidence._

"What if the key gets stuck in the pipe?" Vivian said, thinking about the plan worriedly. "If it gets stuck in the drain...our game is over. I don't want to risk it."

"Well, then we know we tried," Yoshi said, smiling half-heartedly. Vivian nodded too.

"All right," she said, trying to smile as well. "Let's so this. Drop it now."" Yoshi put his phone down and walked towards the mysterious sink in his room. He peered into the darkness of the drain before letting go, dropping the metal key into his sink and hearing a series of clanging metal noises before it disappeared down the pipe, the same one that Wario's photograph pictured. There was silence from Vivian's side as he held his breath.

Vivian: _I was hoping and praying that I would get my key. I was scared, but I fought that feeling with all the hope I had. And then suddenly..._

Yoshi rushed back to his phone anxiously. He only waited, until Vivian's voice came back.

"Did it...work?"

"Yes...it did!" said Vivian, speaking into the phone again. "It did, it worked!" In her own very hand, she held the crucial key of the game, received from the very room above her, as they both celebrated silently.

"I guess the key belonged to me all along," Vivian said with a smile. "I'm going to go open that box now. I'll call you back." She was about to hang up.

"Wait!" said Yoshi. "Stay on. Maybe we can use what's in the box if you tell me what's inside." Vivian nodded, and went over to the box. Dragging it towards the hotel door's entrance, she stuck the metal key into its keyhole and twisted it, then slowly, opened the lid of the box up. Her eyes not only widened, but looked more confused at its contents.

"What's inside?" Yoshi asked.

"Huh...it's just a...mirror," Vivian said, picking up the object from inside the box and looking at it. "Here: relay the message to Wario about me finding a mirror, and keep your room door open so you can run out whenever we need you."

"Roger," said Yoshi happily.

Yoshi: _I felt like the savior, connecting everyone. Maybe we could win this game. We were unstoppable._

"A mirror," Vivian repeated, hanging up and looking at it even more. She turned to her bathroom.

Vivian: _To win this game, we needed not only skill, but luck. A lot of luck, I was discovering. But in my head, I knew all our luck was coming from our own abilities. My abilities too._

* * *

Wario: _It was our final mission, and it was a little aggravating if someone didn't cooperate with you. Especially when you're supposed to cooperate to win in the first place._

Wario tried dialing Vivian, but to no avail.

"What!" he cried, dialing for the third time in the past three minutes. "Does she want to win this game or not?" On his hotel room floor, a scattered assortment of books was created by none other than Wario himself, and when he turned to look at them, he tripped over a pile of one of his formed stacks.

"Argh!" he groaned, getting up and relieved with the fact that nobody saw him. But at his feet, he saw another photograph that was concealed, until that very moment. It was a picture of a single blank color, and as he looked upwards in his room with thought, he realized what was being displayed in the photograph: a hotel room ceiling.

"Which...hotel room?" The phone rang, as Wario went to pick it up.

"Hello...finally!" he said, hearing Vivian.

"I'm sorry, you called earlier?" said Vivian, though she sounded busy. "I'm finding clues one by one, nonstop! They're just piling up here. What have you found?"

"Yeah...well, right now I found a picture of a hotel room ceiling," Wario informed her, looking at the photograph in his hand while thinking heavily. "That's one clue, huh?"

"Check your bathroom mirror," Vivian told him, holding the mirror in her hand. "I found a mirror clue here."

"I can't even see it from here," Wario grumbled. "My phone cord is too short." Vivian just looked at her own bathroom door with determination.

"Hey, didn't you hear me about the ceiling clue?" Wario reminded her. "It has to mean something!" Vivian shook her head.

"It could mean anything," Vivian said. "Like, it would be useless trying to work on something like that. We have no idea what it means!"

Wario: _Vivian was totally ignoring a clue, and from what I know, you need those clues in order to escape. I don't know what she was doing._

"Well, all right," Wario grumbled. "But tell Yoshi to check his ceiling too. And I'll look at mine again."

"Okay, I will," said Vivian, and she hung up the phone. She instantly ran into her bathroom the second she hung up, then stood there, looking a bit unsure but facing and staring at the large object before her: the mirror of her bathroom.

"This has to mean something," she said, and looked at the various bottles on the sink counter. She walked out of her bathroom and was back in her room, searching for an object she had found earlier.

"Maybe if I spray..." She looked at the can of Insta-Spray on her bed with a curious Look. Slowly picking it up, she walked towards her bathroom again with new object in hand, and faced the mirror before her.

Vivian: _It was like piecing the pieces of a puzzle. For some reason, I decided to do something, and I was relying on my gut instinct._

Vivian faced her bathroom mirror, a little hesitantly at first, but then finally sprayed the unknown Insta-Tan onto the mirror. Opening her eyes again after closing them, she gasped.

"Oh my gosh." In front of her, the mysterious liquid had been sprayed as droplets on her mirror. But as she looked closer, she saw something, within the extra layer of liquid she had made, almost as if someone had run their fingers through the frosted mirror and written out a number. On her mirror was a hidden message.

"A...four?" she looked carefully. Fortunate to have more spray left in her bottle, she began to spray her mirror even more, covering her mouth at the same time as the spray in the air seemed to fog up the room. After spraying the entire can, she walked outside, coughing a bit and looking a bit worried, but relieved that not only could she go back in, but that she had finally discovered the last aspect of her room. After a few seconds, she walked back into her bathroom and gasped again.

"Numbers," she said in a voice of disbelief, looking at her mirror.

_346679_

"Maybe...?" Repeating the numbers in her head again and again, she exited her bathroom and went up to her door, cautious about having only one guess, but entered it in anyway. Typing in each number one by one, she took a deep breath and entered in the final number of her combination.

**_CLICK!_**

"I...opened it," Vivian said in a whisper of disbelief, seeing her door open up as she was exposed to the outside world. She looked back into her room, seeing her clock with the game's timer.

**24 MINUTES REMAINING**

* * *

"Nope, I don't see anything," said Yoshi, peering at his ceiling carefully. "Umm, maybe it's not a ceiling in your photo? After all, many things can be blank walls. Maybe it's just a regular wall in your room." Wario shook his head.

"No, but this is a ceiling, I'm sure," Wario said insistently, looking at the photograph. "Well...all right. How's that anagram doing?"

"I'm doing better," Yoshi said, playing with the magnets and thinking. "I'm think I might be close even! I think it's a name."

"Why would you say that?" Wario wondered. "How do you know?"

"Just cause it's two words." Yoshi rearranged the two sets of letters again, his eyes narrowing with frustration.

"Hey, hold on, will yah?" Wario said, realizing his phone was beeping. "I think Vivian's calling me from the other side..." As Yoshi nodded, Wario hung up, and then picked up the phone again with anticipation. However, in the process, he had hung up on Vivian's call accidentally.

* * *

"He's not answering me...huh?" Vivian turned to look at the painting in front of her, the one she had been admiring since the second she stepped into her hotel room. But as she looked closer, she realized that not only did the painting of the house look even more suspicious than it did at first, but in the corner of the frame, a portion of the painting paper had been lifted up.

Vivian: _As an artist, I felt that this room specifically was chosen for me. So when I saw the painting in the first place...I knew something was up with it._

Peeling back the edge of the peeling paper that held the painting, Vivian gasped as she realized the truth: the painting was just a large print. As the piece of paper fell to the ground, Vivian uncovered the two words that were hidden under the surface of the painting.

"Charles...?"

* * *

Yoshi stepped back, having formed the first word of the letters he had been trying to decipher since he had entered the room:

**C H A R L E S**

"I knew this was a name," Yoshi said triumphantly. With seven letters remaining, Yoshi switched around the last permutations left in his head of the refrigerator letters before him.

**I D C K E N S**

"No," he said, and he switched the first two letters of the word around, as the anagram was complete. He stared at the last name.

**D I C K E N S**

* * *

"Charles...Dickens?" Vivian read, seeing the name behind her painting. Anxious but with new discovery, she walked to her door and went outside of her hotel room.

"Well, I guess-" A figure hit into her on the hotel stairs, as she stepped back, stunned. But as she came back to her senses, she gasped.

"Vivian!" Yoshi cried.

"Yoshi?" The two of them hugged each other tightly, mostly from relief but both with surprise as well.

"I never knew you were out!" Yoshi said, amazed and baffled. "How did you get out?"

"Well..it was luck," Vivian said, but she was smiling a bit. "Well, I guess we're both out now."

"Wario's the only one still in his room," Yoshi said. "We have to get moving. We can free him. Let's do this."

"But wait, first look at...this," Vivian said, stopping him. "I think I wanted to show you a secret message in my room." Yoshi followed her, as Vivian grabbed his hand and led him downstairs, to the open door of Room 108. As they entered Vivian's room, they saw the single painting frame on the ground, as Yoshi looked at it.

"Charles Dickens," Vivian read.

"That's funny," Yoshi said. "I just found his name also, in my refrigerator letters. I was spending all my time trying to anagram his name."

"Are you serious?" said Vivian in disbelief. "Well...it has to mean something now, right?" They both laughed.

"Wario has a bookshelf in his room," Yoshi remembered, as they both looked at each other. Side by side, the two of them rushed up the stairs of Hotel Delfino, to its top third floor, as the timer ticked one more minute down.

** 17 MINUTES REMAINING**

* * *

"Whoa...not only do I hear Yoshi...but Vivian? Is that you also?" Wario looked through his eye hole, surprised, shocked, but overall, frustrated as he held a stack of random books in his two arms. "You're out?"

"I'm out," Vivian confirmed to him with a smile. "Well, I used the Insta-Tan spray on my mirror, and apparently, my combination was hidden there. I guess it all happened to work out."

"Did you find your combination yet?" Yoshi piped up.

"If I did, do you think I'd still be trapped here in this room?" Wario ridiculed. "No, I'm still clueless...unfortunately. And I'm the only one left in a hotel room. I just don't want to enter the wrong number. It's the worst risk ever!"

"Well, now that I look back, it was a risk," Vivian said, realizing the fact. "You just...have to be confident." Wario nodded, shrugging.

"Look for a book by someone named Charles Dickens," Yoshi called out to him, as Wario turned around. "We both found the same name in our rooms. It's most likely important."

"Charles Dickens," Wario repeated. His books all scattered on the floor, he only frowned, hearing and realizing his next task. But as he knelt down and searched through his books, it took him less than two minutes to find the crucial, required book, a novel that would bring him one step closer to opening his own hotel room door.

"Okay!" Wario said out loud, holding up a book in the air: _Greatest Expectations by Charles Dickens._

"Now look through it!" Yoshi commanded, trying to get in the door despite it being locked shut. "Our time is running out."

"I'm searching...searching..." Wario said, flipping through the pages, then dropped the book. "Nothing."

"Hmm," Vivian said to him, and thought for a second. "Try looking at the back of the book, at the back cover description. Maybe something is hidden. Or inscribed as a clue."

"Okay..." Wario flipped the book over, reading its back description. His eyes narrowed.

"See anything?" Vivian asked hopefully.

"Nope," Wario replied, "except for a boring synopsis. _Greatest Expectations_? Hah."

"I actually liked that book," Vivian said quietly. "It was...well, I read it a while back." She shook her head, as Yoshi looked at her curiously.

"Well, I've never seen this book in my life...hold on," Wario realized, looking at the inside of the back cover. As if it were a book borrowed from the library, a miniature card was located within the pocket of the book's back cover.

"It's a card in the back of the book...must've been borrowed," Wario said to them. "There are names here: _Will McFaniel, Xatherine Dice..._seems like fake names to me. Maybe it's a puzzle."

"Maybe those names are anagrams," Yoshi said out loud. Wario shook his head

"Hey, but...one of these names are highlighted," Wario said, looking at it closely. Before him, he read the mysterious name with his eyes: _Turner Litesoph._

"Turner...Litesoph?" Wario read. "Huh?"

"Turner Litesoph," Yoshi repeated.

"Turner...turn," said Vivian. "Hey, it might just be me, but does that name sound more of a hidden message to you?" Yoshi repeated the name in his head, then jumped up.

"Turn the lights...!"

"Lights off," Wario finished. "Hey, that's it! Turn the lights off." He turned to the switch before him, and with a single flick, his lights went off, as Vivian and Yoshi saw from under the door the light shut off from inside the hotel room. After a few seconds of staying silent, they spoke.

"Do you...see anything?" Vivian asked quietly.

"Wario!" Yoshi yelled, as the player came back to them.

"I'm right here!" the annoyed player said. "Geez, be quiet. We have time left. Well...I shut off my lights and looked around my room, and..."

"And...?" Vivian asked him. " did you find anything in your room that was crucial?"

"Nope," Wario replied. The other two remaining players looked at each other.

"Our rooms," Yoshi said, as the two of them ran off, back inside their own hotel rooms.

* * *

It took less than a minute before Wario's phone rang again, as he picked it up, optimistically.

"Hey, now what?" he said.

"I...just turned the lights off in my room," said Vivian, peering into the darkness of her temporary abode. "But I don't see anything. Nothing is sticking out. But that clue had to mean something."

"Darn..." said Wario. "So none of our rooms worked with this light clue...wait, how about Yoshi?"

* * *

"Whoa..." said Yoshi, hypnotized and looking at his ceiling. With the lights off in his room, his ceiling was sparkling, little drops of glowing material splattered here and there on his ceiling

"The white paint," he realized, seeing the mysterious can in the middle of the floor glow as bright as his ceiling. As he looked up more, he saw something written on his ceiling, glowing down to him:

_**4.321**_

* * *

"Okay," said Vivian, perplexed at hearing Yoshi on the phone. "Wait, let me get a pen."

"4.321," Yoshi explained. "It's what's written on my ceiling. The white paint in my room must have been some glow-in-the-dark substance. Never the less, I think that's it."

"Finally," said Vivian happily, then paused. "Wait...I don't think that can be Wario's combination."

"Why not?" asked Yoshi. "What else could that clue mean?"

"I doubt his combination would have a decimal point," Vivian pointed out. "It's too risky. I wouldn't enter it...yet. There has to be another meaning for it." Yoshi sighed, then looked at his ceiling.

"Well, it seems like our last step," he reasoned.

"I think this could be our last step too," Vivian said suddenly, as she turned to the TV remote places besides her. She picked it up into her hands, and with a small smile, mostly of hope and accomplishment, she pressed down five buttons into the special remote that would secure their win for the game. Or at least, bring them one step further.

* * *

"Whu...the radio?" Wario said, jumping up at the sound of static from behind him. But as the static became more clear to him, he heard a low and distinct voice begin to speak, slowly, as he listened fully to the mysterious message that was being emitted.

_Three...five...six...seven...seven," _it spoke, as Wario shook his head, not believing what he was hearing.

_"Three...five..."_

The voice from the radio repeated the numbers again, and again, until Wario got the numbers recorded into his mind.

Wario: _This had to be something...possibly my combination...I remember Vivian saying to trust my instincts. And Yoshi did it too, so I had to do this._

"Okay...three..." he said, as he entered his first number into the combination lock of his door.

"Five," he said, pressing down on yet another button. "Six...seven..." His eyes lingered on the last button, as he closed his eyes for a second, then opened them with a big breath when he pressed down: seven.

"Well, if this is wrong, it's too late anyway," he said with a defeated smile, and nonchalantly, he pressed the final button of the combination on his door: seven."

A piercing sound was heard, as he stepped back.

**_CLICK!_**

"No way. It's...open?" With eyes wider than ever before, his door was unlocked. All three players, with time to spare, were free.

* * *

"Come on, Wario's probably out!" Vivian said, talking to the phone with Yoshi. "I mean, we did do something correct, right? My TV just flashed on, with a 'Congatulations!' message."

"You said you pressed buttons on his remote?" Yoshi asked. "If that controls his radio..." Before he could answer, his door opened, as Yoshi jumped back with a small yelp in his own room. But as he looked at the figure in his doorway, Wario, he jumped again with excitement.

"Wario!" he cried, going up to the overwhelmed player, who reluctantly took a hug from his peer.

"Easy fella," Wario replied, stepping back "and yeah, yeah, I made it out. But now what?"

"We have to get Vivian," said Yoshi, "and then we find McHallyboo. Then we could win this game."

"Is that what the rules are?" Wario questioned. "For all we know, there could be a final obstacle or something."

"I don't know," said Yoshi. "But let's go!" The two of them ran to the stairs of the third floor and descended down to the floor where Vivian was. As they looked across from them, all the way at Vivian's room, they saw that she was already outside herself as well. When Vivian saw Wario, she covered her mouth in disbelief.

"Oh my gosh...it can't be," she said, shocked but mostly happy. "You really did make it out!" Wario shrugged, but smiled.

"How much time do we have?" Wario called out to her. "Check the clock in your room!" Vivian went back into her room and found the clock on her bed, looking at its time remaining.

**11 MINUTES REMAINING**

"Around ten minutes remaining, no worries," she reassured. "We just have to reach McHallyboo outside, and that's all. I believe...we won the game." Vivian walked over to the remaining two others, as they faced each other, looking triumphant. Walking down the final flight of stairs, they reached the lobby of the hotel, seeing the door ahead of them.

"Freedom never felt so good," Yoshi said with a smile, as they all walked through the blue sereneness of the lobby, their feet crossing the wooden floorings beneath them and eyes ahead of them. "I'd actually like to stay here a bit."

"Well, every second is worth it," Vivian said. "I want to stay here also, and just feel...this final moment a bit." Wario approached the hotel's door.

"Yep...it only takes one-" Wario twisted the knob, but then stopped, then looked at the door with a frown.

"Huh?" he said, face filled with confusion as he stepped back, then all of a sudden, he looked mad. "No way...they didn't."

"Are you hurt?" Vivian asked, looking at him. "What's wrong?" She looked at the door as well.

"Hey, aren't we supposed to get out?" said Yoshi, trying to open the door himself. But as he tried, it wouldn't budge. He twisted it both ways, then looked at the others.

"It's..."

"It's locked shut," Vivian gasped, as the final game seemed to change completely for all of them.

* * *

**DUN DUN DUN! Oh gosh...I could not avoid this cliff hanger at any cost. I'm sorry.**

**And this might even be the final cliff hanger ever! (besides the revealing of the Mole), because, lo and behold! The final part of Episode 8 comes next! I can't believe it! THIS IS THE END, FOLKS.**

**I seriously don't want to type up the next chapter, because that is the end, but if I don't, I know a lot of people would want my head on a sparkling platter :) hehe. So will the players win their final mission and where will the final pot stand? And what will the final quiz have in store as the final three players of the game take it? **

**A final message from the Mole in the picture clues! ****But...is that the only page hidden? Is there another? **

**Stay tuned for the final part!**


	38. Ending Your Vacation

**WHOOTO. The...the...final part. It's finally here. The last episode. The last mission completes.**

** And the game draws down to its ultimate end.  
**

* * *

**Episode 8 _(Final Part)_**

The hotel door was locked.

"Oh, great," said Wario, sounding aggravated as he gave up on turning the locked door's knob. "A locked door, and five seconds away from losing.  
"I thought we were going to win this, but now, the door's not even opening."

"Wait," said Yoshi, fishing into his pocket, then taking out the metal key that he had earlier. "This might work! It's a door, and it's a key-"

"That key's not going to work," Vivian said, shaking her head. "This is our final step. A last obstacle. We have to do something."

"Like what?" Wario mumbled. "The door's locked shut." They all looked at the door: no keyhole was present, but regardless of this fact, the door still remained shut, preventing them from entering the outside world: the location which held both their final victory and their money.

"So that's it, huh?" said Wario gloomily. "All that work to reach this point? To be locked inside?"

"Vivian, you said we had over ten minutes remaining, right?" Yoshi said to her. "Then we still have time. Let's search now, for something."

"Search where?" Wario questioned, looking all over the lobby. "We searched our rooms. And we also searched this lobby...wait." He stopped.

"Nope, we never searched this lobby," Yoshi corrected, almost smiling. "So there could be something left."

"You're right," Vivian realized. "We haven't searched this lobby yet. There has to be something here!" With a nod, they all turned around to explore the lobby, going to different areas of the blue floor.

**7 MINUTES REMAINING**

Yoshi went to the left side that consisted of a small lounge area, as well as the hotel's main desk, where he began to ask the clueless concierge questions. Vivian went to the right side of the hotel lobby, finding herself among a set of various dining tables as she looked at a single menu on top of a single table with wide eyes, reading the words on its front. Wario headed to the rear of the lobby, and wisely going towards the right direction when faced with two different paths, searched the men's bathroom, checking each stall with both unwant but urgency.

"I'm looking for...a crowbar," Wario joked, calling out from the restroom, "to open the door to the hotel."

"I'm sorry, but I can't help," the concierge said to Yoshi, who frowned at him.

"Guys." Vivian held up the menu she had spotted in the air, the one she had discovered on the table. "I found...the next secret. A riddle." The other two players rushed to her. They looked at the menu she had.

"_The Ultimate Opponent_?" Yoshi read, reading the front page of the menu curiously. "Is it a clue?"

"Huh, why didn't we see this before?" Wario questioned. Opening it, they all saw the following message:

_The door is locked. Time is almost up, isn't it?_

_To open the hotel's only door and escape, you have to realize one thing:_

_This game can't be completed without the three of you on your own levels. _

_But in the end, you work together. Just like a large hotel._

_Good luck. -McHallyboo _

"Well, it says that in order for us to succeed," Vivian thought, her mind thinking, "we have to be on our own levels." Wario shrugged.

"But aren't we?" Yoshi pointed out. "We're all completely different people, on our own levels, playing this game completely differently." They all couldn't help but agree.

"Maybe you're taking it a little too literally," Vivian said, then paused.

"That makes sense...not really," Wario said, almost shutting the menu on the table closed with frustration. "It's all...metaphors?"

"Or maybe...not literal enough at all," Vivian added, reading it again.

"Huh?" Wario said. Vivian read the message again.

"A hotel...maybe it's talking about this actual hotel?" Vivian thought.

"And levels too," Yoshi said, reading the message again. "Could that mean different locations?"

"Hold on," said Wario. "If this thing is comparing us to a hotel...then it gives the word 'level' a whole new meaning." Vivian gasped.

"On different levels," she realized in a whisper. "It's talking about the different floors! The floors of the hotel are where we're supposed to be."

"But how does that make sense?" Yoshi said, confused at first, but then he understood as well.

"Different floors!" he exclaimed.

"Hold it," Wario said to them, still baffled. "I mean, what exactly is our next step, in order to escape from the hotel?"

"Maybe if we each stand on a floor of this hotel..." started Yoshi.

"The trigger will be activated, and the door will open," Vivian explained, closing the menu and looking at her two peers, "but we have to do this fast! Our time...isn't much." Wario looked less confused, but his face still showed skepticism.

"And if it doesn't work?" Wario said, as the three of them began walking towards the lobby's only flight of stairs.

"Just go," Vivian said to him. "Yoshi, you take the third floor, since you're the fastest. Wario, the second." Yoshi ran off, doing a quick enthusiastic salute before turning around and rushing up both flights of stairs as fast as he could, as Vivian turned to Wario.

"Good job," Wario said to Vivian, a rare light-hearted smirk on his face. "If this whole thing is correct...then maybe I have to reconsider some things about the end of this game." Before Vivian could reply back, Wario had already rushed up the stairs, to the second floor of the hotel. Vivian turned around, the other two gone. Time was running out.

**3 MINUTES REMAINING**

"Okay...this is it." Slowly, Vivian walked to the center of the hotel's lobby, closed her eyes, and stood as motionless as she could, waiting for something, if anything, to happen next.

As Yoshi stood on the top floor of the hotel, and Wario stood in the middle, Vivian stood in the lobby. As a group, their existence went throughout Hotel Delfino: their final opponent.

..._beep_

_...beep_

_...beep...**CLICK.**_

"Wario...Yoshi! The door!"

As the footsteps increased, both Wario and Yoshi seemed to appear at the same time. Vivian pointed to the front door of the hotel, her finger still slightly shaking: it was open, and before them, orange light seeped into the interior of the lobby, the sunset of the beach now visible to all three of them.

"It's...open," Yoshi gasped. "It's open!"

"I guess it worked," Vivian said, still in slight shock herself.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Wario bellowed. "LET'S ALL RUN!" The sound of rushing feet was as intense as never before, as all three players dashed through the lobby's floor and out through the door that was once locked. They were outside, free, but still dazed. Before them, the area consisting of pools and huts appeared to become a miniature labyrinth before their eyes.

"Where is he?" Vivian said, gasping and looking around.

"McHallyboo!" Yoshi cried. A recognizable short figure with a top hat sat at the edge of the shore, looking at them endlessly from a considerable distance away from them. He was standing on the beach, and as they all looked closer, they saw the the figure was wearing his distinguishable top hat, along with a grin. They continued to run down the hotel's arrangement of stairs, faster than they had done ever before

"These stairs!" Wario said, grunting but running down a series of steps that led to the bottom of the hotel's base. "Run faster!" On the final set of stairs, it was Vivian who lost her foot placing as she stumbled, almost falling down.

"Hey, easy!" Wario grabbed her, helping her up as the two ran forwards. Yoshi looked backwards, seeing his two lagging teammates, as he waited for them at the edge of the hotel's ceramic base.

"Jump!" he shouted. The three of them all jumped, their feet falling into sand as each of them realized that they had finally made it to the beach. On Sirena Beach, each player was gasping, tired, but overall relieved as they faced the person in front of them, the person they had been searching for, for nearly the past ninety minute of their game. He would also be the person to reveal to them the news of their final, intense, and conclusion-worthied mission.

"Well done." These were the first words that were uttered out of McHallyboo's mouth.

"Did we..." Wario gasped, talking between his breaths. "Did we make it in time to win the cash?"

"Possibly," the host replied. Wario glared.

"Tell us!" Yoshi pleaded, tired but still fully interested, as McHallyboo held his chuckle in.

"I'm...I'm okay now," Vivian said. After a few seconds, the three of them had all caught their breath, and were now all focused fully on the host.

"Please, tell us," Vivian said, as anxious as ever.

"After given a ninety minute time limit," said the host, as the silence in the air seemed to become part of the beach around them, "you found me in the time of..." The players could only wait for the next set of words, words that would either disappointment them forever, or give them all an endless amount of joy, even for years to come.

"In a time of eighty-nine minutes and thirteen seconds." The sound in the air was filled with erupted cheers and laughter. Wario laughed with success and relief, then grabbed his two partners into his arms. Yoshi laughed too, falling to the ground seconds later with a sigh, as Vivian smiled to herself, feeling triumphant to herself. She looked at the host with appreciation.

"I'm happy to announce your final pot standings," said the host, as they all settled down. "Because you had reached me before the timer ran out, I will add a final addition of 50,000 coins to your team pot. Your team pot now stands and finishes at a value of..." They all became silent, yet again.

"Two hundred and eighty-eight thousand coins," was McHallyboo's final pot announcement.

**TOTAL POT VALUE**

_288,000 COINS_

"Wow," said Yoshi, his voice dumbstruck. Vivian gasped.

"That's so much money," Vivian gasped, in disbelief. "I never knew...it was so much." Wario looked at the host, unable to hide his smile.

"Well, I guess one of our lives will be changing forever," Wario said, grinning. The host tipped his hat, and smiled grandly.

"Thank you all for playing this magnificent game, and you all deserve it," said McHallyboo, and all of a sudden, his face turned serious. The players looked at him.

"Please listen: you have one hour before the helicopters arrive. Time is short, so I have to announce this to all of you: you will be taking the final quizzes of your game tonight, at a secret location." The players were struck, and even though they were expecting it in the back of their minds, in their minds, they were still taken the feeling of surprise. As their anticipation grew, the host spoke more to them.

"In one hour, three helicopters will be bringing you to your final, secret location," McHallyboo explained further, as they all listened to him. "There, your final quizzes will be waiting for you. The final quiz is extremely difficult, and will be twenty questions long. You will not be quizzed only on this episode: you will be quizzed about everything since the beginning of the game about the Mole."

The three players' eyes widened, surprised at the same time, but never the less, they all nodded. All of a sudden, McHallyboo reached into his pocket and pulled three familiar objects out of his coat pocket that gave them all sighs of relief.

"My journal!" Yoshi said happily, as McHallyboo handed them back one by one.

"Well, this might help us a little," said Wario, jokingly, grabbing his own.

"Thank you..." Vivian went to grab hers as well, then held it tightly in her arms with a relieved but nervous smile.

"The end of this game depends on all of you," said the host, and he nodded. "Everything will end soon, in one hour. Good luck." Behind him, the beautiful sunset was visible, setting like the end of the long journey that had been played to its maximum full: the journey of adventure, deceit, and triumph. The game was finally ending.

* * *

The sound and feeling of numerous winds came through the air, as the players looked up to see three helicopters, slowly making their ways to the land of Serena Beach. As the players stepped back with caution, the helicopters landed, and at that moment, they were instructed to leave their journals behind. Already preparing themselves for the end of the game, the players went into their respective helicopters with little objection and hesitation. Within ten minutes, each player was in the air, going off to an unknown location that would decide their final fates of the game.

Vivian was looking out of her helicopter window, sitting next to the pilot, her face mixed with both anticipation, fear, but most of all, wonder, as she continued to wonder about the game's final events. In the inside, her fear and wonder was slowly building up, but like many times in the game, she was fighting to keep it down.

Vivian: _It's impossible to describe how my experience was, in one word. It's impossible to describe it in a thousand words. But if I had to, this game has been...nothing short from amazing. I'm so happy to have been a part of this. I wasn't even going to be here in the first place, but here I was. My nervousness was building, but in the inside of me, I was doing everything to be ready. I just had to be myself._

Yoshi was looking out of his window as well, his face showing the same excitement and nervousness that he was feeling inside. But as he looked down at the endless water below him, he couldn't help but feel a tint of sadness along with his nervousness, as the helicopter flew on.

Yoshi: _It was a weird feeling that I felt in that helicopter, since everything was ending. When I look back, I realize that there wasn't a single thing in this game that I didn't miss. So I was happy for that. Sure, we had our drama, and every single person had their moments, but even still. Did I have fun? Of course. Am I nervous for this final quiz? Yes, I am, and you can't help that feeling...but over everything else, I'm ready._

Wario turned to look out his windows, as his helicopter continued flying. He saw the helicopter carrying Yoshi on one side of his window, and when he looked the other way, he saw the helicopter carrying Vivian to his left. He laughed slightly, then sat down. Inside, his feelings were mixed, but one could say that he was feeling equal levels of grumpiness and nervousness, with a small tint of satisfaction.

Wario: _I said I came here for the money, and that was probably a lie. There's something about this adventure that was irreplaceable, and I won't forget it. And yes, I'll probably never admit this to anyone else, how much of an adventure I had and how much fun I had. This game has been tiresome, of couse, but at the same time, awesome. I feel like those words don't really do much justice, but it's okay. So I'm just going to do this final quiz, complete it, and end everything. It's finally here._

All three helicopters continued on, to the final location of the game.

* * *

After a while, the players seemed to have drifted off into their own worlds of thought, but it all erased when they all saw the next and final location of their game: approaching below them, as the helicopters' speeds seemed to decrease in velocity, they saw an island larger and grander than they had ever seen before. It was all natural: flora littered its center areas and sandy beaches could be seen on all sides of the large piece of land, but it struck to them as nothing else but a magnificent island within the sea of Isle Delfino.

"Get ready for landing!" shouted one of the pilots within one of the helicopters, as the three vehicles slowly descended, whirring mixtures of wind and sand everywhere as they got closer to the land below them. Once on the edge of the beach, the propellers began to slow down, as the vehicles became motionless. After a minute, each player was helped off their respective vehicle as they exited out of their helicopters, and at that moment, they were now exposed to the air once again and reunited with one another on the ground. They looked around, in both anxiousness and awe at the location they had finally arrived at. In front of them, McHallyboo was waiting.

_First, there were ten. Ten players began this journey, and one by one, fell victim to the aura of deceit surrounding this vacation. Now, there are only three. Three players who managed to make it to the end of this game past the others. Three who managed to stay alive and keep their foot in the island of survival this entire time. One of these people will win, their life changed forever as a victor. One of these people will fall, having made it so far into the game. And in the end, one person will finally be unmasked and revealed, giving us the answer to the most long-waited question of this entire game:_

_ Who is the Mole? _

"Hello, players," spoke McHallyboo. He was located not too far from the shore of the beach, as the players walked up to him.

"This is your final location," McHallyboo said, "and your vacation ends here." He stretched his hand out behind him, as they took in the grand sight of the large island before them, their eyes settling upon it.

"Saboteur's Island," Vivian whispered in realization. "This is it."

"Very shortly, you will be led to your tables on another side of the island, not far from here," McHallyboo announced, pointing to a distance not too far from them. As they squinted, they could make out three distinct objects in the distance, and they all knew that their separate laptops rested on tables.

"Outside?" Yoshi said, his voice in awe. The host nodded.

"On those tables, near the shore of the island, your final quizzes of The Mole: Saboteur's Island will be taken," McHallyboo informed them. "It is twenty questions long, and I will warn you all right now that the quiz will be very difficult. It will be going back to questions about the Mole since Day 1."

"That's madness," said Wario to himself, shaking his head. McHallyboo faced all of them.

"In soon time, there will be a winner," he said in a grand voice, looking at all three of the players before him. "One of you will be the sole winner of 288,000 coins, claiming the role as victor after an entire month of playing this game. One of you will lose, falling short of that great victory." He looked at the three players before him even harder now.

"And one of you...will finally reveal yourself as the Mole." All three players felt a small chill, as if a wind had swept through them all. For the Mole, the chill was unbearable.

* * *

"Follow me." Walking across the sand, it wasn't long until all three players and their host had reached the other side of the island's small beach. Three desks could be seen in front of them now, facing the ocean water, located a safe distance of twenty feet away from one other. Under each desk was a seat, and on top of each table was a laptop.

"Wario," said McHallyboo, "you will be taking your quiz on the first desk. Please walk there now and refrain from doing anything else, unless instructed to do otherwise." The host pointed to the desk on the far left side, as Wario, who slowly walked his way over to it, went over to it. Finally, he sat down in his chair.

"Yoshi, the middle desk please," said the host, as Yoshi nodded heavily and walked over to the desk between the two others. The host then pointed to the last desk, all the way to the right.

"Vivian, the final desk," he said, as the player nodded, a little timidly, but made her way over to the last desk. She sat down.

"Very soon, your laptops will turn on." All players were far away enough from the water in front of them, but close enough to feel affected by it. At their feet, sand was present, and all of a sudden, the players felt as if they had become part of the island, destined to decide their final fate on the land of Saboteur's Island.

"And when they flash on...your final quizzes will begin," the voice of McHallyboo echoed behind them. The players couldn't see him, but the host could see them.

"Wario Garlimo. Are you ready?"

"Yes, I'm ready, and good," replied the person in yellow, clearing his throat nervously.

"Yoshi Dino. Are you ready?"

"Yes, ready McHallyboo," the dinosaur replied, his eyes focused only on his screen.

"Vivian Shadens. Are you ready?"

"Yes...I'm sure I'm ready," the shadow siren spoke, her hands slightly shaking. McHallyboo nodded to himself, then looked at his wristwatch. He slowly raised his arms.

"Your final quiz...begins...now!" All laptops simultaneously turned on, as the final test of the game began. The sun before them was at its maximum sunset.

* * *

Wario began his quiz.

**_1. When the boat arrived at the beginning of the game, in what order did the Mole get off?_**

**_-First_**

**_-Second_**

**_-Third_**

**_-Fourth_**

**_-Fifth_**

**_-Sixth_**

**_-Seventh_**

**_-Eighth_**

**_-Ninth_**

**_-Tenth_**

Wario: _It could be anyone...there are three players left. A suspect of mine is definitely Yoshi. He could be the Mole._

_**2. What was the Mole's room number on the first night in Delfino Plaza?**_

_**-101**_

_**-102**_

_**-103**_

_**-104**_

_**-105**_

Vivian: _Yoshi could be a good choice for the saboteur, because he can be that character who you think is good-natured and harmless, but in fact, he's very nimble and smart. He could mess up easily, but pull it off with his quirky attitude.  
_

_Flashback **Yoshi**: "Gah, sorry!" (steps in another tomato in the process of his leg during the 1-2-3 BLT game, while Wendy groans)_

Wario: _He's done a number of good sabotage acts, no doubt. He could be it.  
_

**_3. What was the number that the Mole received during the Air Combination game?_**

**_-Eight_**

**_-Six_**

**_-Four_**

**_-Five_**

**_-One_**

**_-Two_**

**_-The Mole did not receive a number_**

Vivian: _Wario could also very well have a chance of being the Mole. In our first mission, he couldn't memorize a 3-digit combination. Now that we're seven episodes into the game, we all know that he's smarter than that. So his action in the beginning...it didn't make sense.  
_

_Flashback **Boo:** ""You can't even remember a 3-digit combination!" (Wario scratches his head with a shrug and a confused look)_

_**4. When was the Mole's bag brought to shore during the Bag Savers mission?**_

_**-First**_

_**-Second**_

_**-Third**_

_**-Fourth**_

_**-Fifth**_

_**-Sixth**_

_**-Seventh**_

_**-The Mole's bag was not brought to shore**_

Yoshi: _Wario could definitely be the Mole, just for the fact that you wouldn't look at him and immediately think, "Oh, he could be the Mole". __Choosing someone who would have the most outrageous demeanor and boastful acts, in order to cover who he really was...it makes sense if they picked him._

Vivian:_ Maybe it's him. It's possible._

**_5. During the Island Bash preparation, the Mole spent the majority of their time with how many other people?_**

**_-None_**

**_-1_**

**_-2_**

**_-3_**

Wario: _Vivian...she's the player that everyone, and I mean everyone, overlooked since the beginning. In fact, throughout the beginning episodes, nobody suspected her. And that's probably what led to their downfall.  
_

Yoshi: _She does weird actions that make us all suspicious. Like in the Island Bash mission, she refused to stay alone and pass fliers. We could have made so much more money, if she went her own separate way that game.  
_

_Flashback **Vivian: **"I don't feel confident giving out fliers alone. Can I stay with you guys instead?" (Diddy and Luvbi look at each other, then nod)_

Yoshi: _Throughout this whole game, she's done weird things like that.  
_

_**6. In which group did the Mole arrive in to the boat during the Island Lockdown game?**_

_**-Group Auction Delfino**_

_**-Group Volley-All **_

_**-Group Sabotage**_

Wario: _Vivian could fool anyone, and none of us would even know it. The fact that she's intelligent makes the possibility even stronger, with no doubt, that she could be the Mole._

**_7. When did the Mole's team face the wiggler during the Wiggler Cowardice challenge?_**

**_-First_**

**_-Second_**

**_-Third_**

**_-Fourth_**

The sun in the sky was setting more than before. In front of them, the ocean waves kept on hitting onto the sandy shore, lightly, but with force.

_Yoshi: __Wario has done some strange things also. In the Wiggler game, he was asked to name Luvbi's second occupation, and he gave the answer that he thought Luvbi was also a chef. I don't doubt that he didn't know the real answer. But what I do think is that he gave out such an illogical answer, one that he probably knew would never be correct, in order to get it wrong._

_____Flashback **Wario:** "Argh…a chef?" (Luvbi looks shocked while McHallyboo shakes his head, releasing the Wiggler)_

Wario looked at his quiz, facing the next question very carefully with a frown, trying to remember.

___Wario: __From what I heard from the others in the Gelato Beach mission, Vivian was tired and stayed behind, while Diddy went to find the watermelon with the exemption in it. Because she left him alone, he was tempted to smash it. The whole coincidence of it...it was a perfect plan of sabotage._

_**8. When was the Mole's name called during the third execution?**_

_**-First**_

_**-Second**_

_**-Third**_

_**-Fourth**_

_**-Fifth**_

_**-Sixth**_

_**-Seventh**_

_**-The Mole's name was not directly called**_

Vivian: _During the Race of the Rides mission, Yoshi was the one who was luckily volunteered to be on the exemption side. And he played to his full potential during that game, along with Luvbi, which ended up losing us the game. He fought hard for that exemption, so that was question._

_(flashback of Yoshi running through Pinna Park, running excitedly, while Luvbi follows behind him)_

_Wario: __Vivian's most suspicious act was on the roller coaster...she could barely answer her questions. It looks to me that she wasted just enough time to skip out on an entire question, which to me, is a great opportunity._

**_9. How many times did the Mole ride the roller coaster during Race of the Rides?_**

**_-Once_**

**_-Twice_**

**_-Three times or more_**

**_-None _**

_Flashback **Goombella:** (showing the ear piece to everybody) "Okay, something happened to it! Like, just as we started this round, the ear piece started to buzz up." (Wario glares at her with suspicion)  
_

Yoshi: _When the ear piece sabotage broke out, the blame was either between Wario, who had the ear piece before Goombella, or Goombella, who received it. Now that Goombella's gone, it only leaves one suspect left. Wario most likely did that sabotage that day._

**_10. How many times did the Mole's name appear to choose the fate of another player in Execution Roulette?_**

**_-None_**

**_-Once_**

**_-Twice_**

**_-Three times or more _**

The sun was already setting to its full level, as the three players realized that the horizon in front of them was no longer the color of orange. Very soon, it would be dark.

**_11. How many snapshots in total did the Mole take during Snap to See?_**

**_-None _**

**_-One_**

**_-Two_**

**_-Three_**

**_-Four_**

**_-Five or more_**

Vivian: _Like Luvbi and I always thought, it was very, very suspicious of how Wario got the role as exemption holder in the Camera mission. It was either chance, or possibly more._

_Flashback **Wario**: "What is this thing anyway?" (toys with the camera, then puts it down on the table with disinterest)__  
_

Wario: _Yoshi did terrible in the Camera mission, costing the team money with his sabotages. He got a Pianta to take a picture of one of the goals instead of him, which broke the rules. Then he got caught by me in the end. It was like he intentionally did those to lose us money.  
_

_Flashback **McHallyboo**: "We spied on you, and saw that a Pianta took this picture instead." (Yoshi sulks)  
_

**_12. Ranking 1 as being the shortest of length and 6 being the longest, how long was the Mole's journal entry compared to the others when read out loud during the game Page 6?_**

**_-1_**

**_-2_**

**_-3_**

**_-4_**

**_-5_**

**_-6 _**

Yoshi: _No one knows why Vivian left her page blank in the Journal mission. It's weird: why would she genuinely leave the sixth page of her journal blank? I've seen her write so much in her journal.  
_

Wario: _Yoshi and Vivian both failed their mushrooms in the Fungi Prediction game. That's especially fishy, especially for Yoshi. He broke the rules for the game by eating the mushroom too early, and we automatically lost. It made me suspect him more._

_**13. The Mole escaped from the their cell in the beginning of the 5 Become 1 mission with how many seconds left on the door's timer?  
**_

_**-Sixty seconds**_

_**-Forty-five seconds**_

_**-Thirty seconds**_

_**-Fifteen seconds**_

_**-The Mole did not escape their cell**_

Wario: _Vivian had no reason to fall in the beginning of the game. It makes it hard to believe that at that last second, she didn't think of asking anyone else to pass her a key._

___(flashback of Vivian screaming while falling through the trap floor of her cell)_  


Vivian: _Wario was trying to beat everyone in the 5 Become 1 game. He put it all in our minds that it was survival of the fittest. But only until the end did we discover that we all had to work together through each room. Maybe Wario knew that beforehand, and tried to turn us away from the possibility of working as a team._

Flashback **Wario:**_ "It means it's survival of the fittest!" (whacks the pyramid of boxes, starting the game)  
_

**_14. In the mock quiz of Episode 6, which of these answers pertained to the Mole, depending on the explanation I gave you afterwards?_**

_**-S.S. Music**_

_**-S.S. Dollar**_

_**-S.S. Diamond**_

_**-S.S. Painter **_

_**-S.S. Cocktail**_

Yoshi: _Sometimes Vivian can be smart. But on some occasions, she would seem too smart, like when she knew that the metal pot on Goombella's island would help us win the game during Cash It or Sink It. Who would immediately think that?_

_Flashback **Vivian**: (blurts) "But she's hiding something!" The other players turn to her with surprise and interest._

Vivian: _Wario came back from the island in the Cash It or Sink it mission with no money in his hand. This was his most blatant sabotage I could remember. His explanation didn't make any sense, claiming that he wanted to persuade Goombella to cash more money. Maybe we finally caught him in an act that game, red-handed._

_Flashback **McHallyboo:** "On the third leg though, Wario, you decided to leave the third bag of money on the island. Was there any motive for your actions?" Wario glares at the host, as the others look at him. _

_Flashback **Wario**: "I thought she would take it in, which she did at the end. But that didn't serve a purpose." __  
_

**_15. How many games did the Mole's team predict that the opposing team successfully won, during the Delfino Plaza games?_**

**_-0  
_**

**_-1_**

**_-2_**

**_-3_****_  
_**

Vivian: _Yoshi messed up in his portion of the games in Delfino Plaza, when he had to steal a fruit from a stand. He's fast, smart, and tricky, so how he got caught so easily is beyond my thought. Maybe he got caught intentionally, for all we know._

_Flashback **Yoshi**: "I'm innocent!" (a Pianta policeman immediately approaches him, along with an angry crowd)  
_

_**16. What object did the Mole first pick up into their hands during The Sacred Pot?**_

_**-A clock**_

_**-A ball-point pen**_

_**-A brochure**_

_Flashback **Vivian:** "I couldn't take it." (shakes her head with a smile, as the others clap)  
_

Wario: _Giving up an exemption? No one would ever do that, Vivian, one round away from the final episode. It was just too suspicious, and that just made my head turn more than ever before.  
_

Now, the sky was darker. Everything around them seemed to fade, and the light from their laptop screens seemed to illuminate the small circle aura of space that surrounded each of the three players. As a small wind blew b_y, _each player counted for themselves how many questions they had left to answer.

_**17. Combining exemptions, +1's, -1's, and neutralizers, how many had the Mole obtained in total throughout the game?**_

_**-0**_

_**-1**_

_**-2**_

_**-3**_

_**-4**_

_**-5 or more**_

Vivian: _It's come down to this moment. I know who the Mole is, but my heart is pounding and I have to be extra sure. This is the place where I have to make my final decision, between both Wario or Yoshi.**  
**_

_**18. What is the Mole's Zodiac sign?**_

_**-Capricorn**_

_**-Aquarius  
**_

_**-Pisces  
**_

_**-Aries  
**_

_**-Taurus  
**_

_**-Gemini  
**_

_**-Cancer  
**_

_**-Leo  
**_

_**-Virgo  
**_

_**-Libbra  
**_

_**-Scorpio  
**_

_**-Sagittarius**_

Yoshi: _I have two opponents left. It could be any of them. Bot__h Wario and Vivian have sabotaged perfectly. I counted how much money they had each cost the team in this game, and it's practically the same. It's up to my final choice of who I really think the Mole is.  
_

_**19. The Mole is currently sitting in which desk, according to my view facing all of you?**_

_**-The left desk**_

_**-The middle desk**_

_**-The right desk**_

Wario: _You can never be fully sure. Vivian or Yoshi are my two choices, and I'm still not one-hundred percent sure who it really is. But the only thing I'm sure about is that I, myself, am not the Mole. I can't be...but, wouldn't that make the game a lot more easier?_

_**20. Who is the Mole?**_

_**-Yoshi**_

_**-Vivian**_

_**-Wario **_

* * *

A significant amount of time passed after all the players had finished their final quizzes. The host began to speak.

"Players. Your final quizzes are now complete." The sky was now fully dark, as well as most of the land of the island. In the moon's glow, the host's face could be seen, as each player remained sitting in their desks, with anticipation and watching the host.

"We have received your results, and from it, everything will be revealed," he announced. "At the end of all of this, will have the winner's name, the winner of this entire game and the sole taker of 288,000 coins, a sum larger than ever before received on this show. We will have the final victim's name, the player who had made it this far, only to fall at the very last and final step of this intense and excruciating game."

Before the host finished his final sentence, a sudden wind appeared before all of them on the island, matching perfectly and fittingly with the line that the host was about to speak.

"And we'll finally know, at the end, the answer to the one question we have all been waiting for, since the very beginning of this game." All players looked him in the eye.

"Who is...the Mole?"

* * *

_**On the finale of The Mole: Saboteur's Island:**_

The executed players are all brought back and reunited since the beginning of the game. Together, they watch the unmasking of the Mole.

Rosalina: _It could be Vivian. She was my earlier suspect.  
_

Diddy: _Yoshi's my guess for the Mole!  
_

Boo: _Something tells me that Wario MIGHT actually be it._

The stories behind the winner and loser are revealed to all, along with tales of the other players' journeys.

Luvbi: _All of a sudden, I realized I was knocking everyone off. One by one._

Goombella: _I knew I was falling right into her trap.__  
_

The Mole's entire gameplay and acts of sabotage are finally uncovered!

Wendy: _That was your fault? I knew it! I totally knew you did that!_

And all the hidden clues are revealed since the beginning of the game.

Bobbery: _I remember you saying that on the first day. Hmm! Very sly indeed._

Who will be the winner of The Mole: Saboteur's Island? Who will be the loser?

_And most importantly, who will finally be revealed as...the Mole?_

* * *

**It's finally here. Wow! The...finale? D:  
**

**On the next part of this story, indeed, the Mole will be revealed. The game and story ends! And all is released into the open.**

**_YOUR FINAL GUESS ON WHO THE MOLE IS ENDS HERE._ If you haven't reviewed before, this is it. And if you have been, then your final Mole guess is it :) **

**I thank you all so much for reading and reviewing, you guys! All your help and support has finally led to this moment. And it's gonna be great! I promise. **

**Yes, a _final poll_ is now open on my profile as well! So do vote!**

**The next part reveals all. So who is it? Who is the Mole that we've all finally come to see in this final ending?**

**Stay tuned for the finale!****  
**


	39. Message: Official Time Reveal!

Hello to you all!

I would like to announce that the next update of The Mole: Saboteur's Island will be on **_August 22, 2011, at 9PM EST. _**(heh! Wow, an official time? I'm so fancy and cool :D cough eh.)

But that's right! The Mole will finally be revealed on that day and time! So keep your eyes peeled and be ready for the ultimate uncovering of...the Mole. Just who will it be? Time is close!

Also, the Mole has left more journal entires available for all of you on my profile. So check them out. Remember, to access journal pages, the title has to be changed. Sometime the Mole likes to name pages after his/her victims.

Don't forget to vote on the poll if you have not done so yet! Stay tuned all!

I'll see you soon ;)


	40. The Saboteur Revealed

_**It is... **_

_**THE FINALE**_

_The game has finally turned its final corner. After so many months of waiting,__ this very moment has finally been reached_. Tonight, we will all finally know the answer to one question. One very important question that we've all been waiting for since the very beginning. 

_Are you ready to discover?_

**Who...**

**Is...**

**The Mole?**

Is it **Wario**, the thirty-four year old money lender and explorer?

**Yoshi**, the twenty-two year old fruiterer and waiter?

or** Vivian, **the nineteen year old visual display artist?

* * *

"Welcome to the finale of The Mole: Saboteur's Island! It has been four months since the game ended on that mysterious island within Isle Delfino's sea, where Vivian, Yoshi, and Wario took their final quizzes of the game. Going back home without knowing the final results of the game, they could only wait. Now today, we are gathered in a place that couldn't be more appropriate: right in the hotel of Delfino Plaza, back again with everyone reunited. Here with me are all seven executed players of the game, together again since the very first episode." The players all greeted the host from their chairs with excitement.

"Wow, I'm so happy to be back!" The other players couldn't agree more with Wendy's statement.

"Okay, so this place had given me nightmares in the past," Goombella said, as everyone else laughed. "But, I'm happy to be here."

"Dixie couldn't believe that I was coming back to Isle Delfino," Diddy said, shaking his head in memory. "And...neither could I."

"Well, I'm glad that you've all made it here, in one piece," McHallyboo said, jokingly and gratefully. "This is the first time you've all been together, right? Since the beginning."

"Yep, the group wasn't complete ever since I left the game," Boo said, as everyone else laughed again. McHallyboo nodded.

"Of course, we're all here again for one reason," said the host. "To discover the end results of this very game. But deep down, we're all really the most excited towards one particular question: Who is the Mole?" The others all nodded, excited indeed.

"I really am excited," Rosalina said, her voice enthusiastic. "Ever since I got executed, I've been wanting to know who the saboteur really was. And now, we'll finally know."

"I'd say," said Bobbery, speaking up. "It's felt like it's been three years since we were first introduced to this game. Preposterous!"

"Time is an illusion," McHallyboo said, chuckling. "Luvbi, you were the most recently executed player. What are your own feelings on this long time?" The others turned to her, as Luvbi just sat in her chair with a small smile.

"I feel like it's appropriate," she answered. "If it was any shorter, our delay, then this finale wouldn't be any special at all." The host nodded.

"Three players remain," said McHallyboo, and he moved to a wall of a lobby where three new doors were located, constructed for the very occasion. They were the same in size, shaded a tint green in color, but completely blocking anyone from see what the doors held inside. What the players in the front couldn't see were the three people that were hidden behind each of the doors, waiting in their own small room compartments, secluded from the outside world. Inside, the final three players could only wait, anxiously but readily.

"Yoshi, Vivian, and Wario wait behind these three doors," the host informed. "In a short moment, we will discover who wins, who loses, but most importantly, who is the Mole. So I ask you all." He faced the executed players, who were sitting appropriately in two rows of comfortable chairs before him.

"Who do you think is the Mole?" As Boo was first pointed to, he thought.

"The Mole," he repeated. "Well, for my guess, I will probably say Yoshi, just because. He could be it, really, and I feel a gut instinct towards him that's pretty stong. I trust Wario, and something tells me that Wario MIGHT actually be it. Though...I don't think it's him." McHallyboo turned next to Rosalina.

"Rosalina?"

"I actually disagree with you," Rosalina said, turning to Boo. "I think that Wario is the Mole. I never really looked at him as suspicious, till I looked back at things in the game. It could be Vivian. She was my earlier suspect. And Yoshi too. But Wario is my top choice, so I think it's him." McHallyboo nodded, then turned to Wendy.

"Wendy, who do you think is the Mole?" he asked. Her face looked confused.

"Umm...I really don't know," she decided, "but I really, really suspected Vivian earlier on, so she's my answer. And since she's so innocent appearing. And of course, you wouldn't suspect her, so I really think it's her." McHallyboo turned to the next player: Diddy.

"Hmm," the monkey began. "I think Yoshi's the Mole, just because he was my friend, and whenever I was with him, he was really a star at sabotaging. So Yoshi's my guess for the Mole! Final answer." The host pointed to Bobbery.

"Bobbery, who do you think is the Mole?" the host asked, as the ex-player gave a jovial grin.

"Well," he started, "I've crossed so many people off my list. But when I come down to Wario...he's been the player who has always been a candidate of mine. The Mole has to be someone who can be sneaky and conniving, but wipe it off with a real personality at the same time. So Wario is my vote for the Mole, sir." The host nodded, then faced Goombella, who began contemplating.

"It's been hard," she began, "but I really have to go with Vivian. I truly think she could pull off the job as the Mole well, and she's been my suspect too. So she is my Mole guess." The host nodded, and then turned to the final player of the line: Luvbi. But she had other plans.

"I hate to break this chain, McHallyboo," Luvbi began, "but I don't think it would be fair to divulge my guess. Just for the fact that I've been spoiled so far into the end of the game. So I'll remain silent."

"But you can still be wrong," Wendy said out loud, teasingly. Luvbi just smiled, slightly.

"Still, I'd rather not say," Luvbi concluded, as the others nodded, a little disappointed but more so with enthusiasm.

"Well, heh, no more rules exist anymore in this game," the host said, grinning, "so I will say conclude your statement as fair, Luvbi. And that...is that!"

* * *

_Here are the results to the poll that asked: Saboteur Island's Finale: Who is the Mole?_

_Vivian: **9 votes**_

_Yoshi: **9 votes**_

___Wario: **10 votes**_

_(wow! these were very close! So regardless, many will get it correct. And wrong ;) _

* * *

McHallyboo turned over to a grand television besides him, larger than any other that had played during the executions throughout the game.

"Before we know who the Mole is, let us refresh our memory a little bit, shall we?" The television flicked on, as the players watched.

* * *

_ Three players left in the game, all who have had their share of suspicious moments. Any one of them could be the Mole. Let's take a closer look._

**Yoshi**

_-One-Two-Three BLT Challenge-_

The players has to traverse a series of obstacles within Ricco Harbor in order to retrieve food recipe items. On Yoshi's leg, a large floor was present with many tomatoes on it, and every tomato destroyed would penalize 1,000 coins. He stumbled about, crushing many in the process.

Wendy: _He wasn't even watching his foot placements, and we were losing money! He was making me so mad._

_-Casino Potluck-_

Yoshi ended up earning the least money at the end of the day of his teammates, with a terribly low money amount of 1,200 coins. In the beginning, he began with a high total of 5,000 coins.

_-The Fungi Prediction-_

When faced with eating a certain mushroom within the allotted time limit, Yoshi broke the rules by sticking the mushroom into his mouth before McHallyboo could announce the start of the round. Because he broke the rules, the team was cost money and his round was void.

Wario: _We all know rules are very important in this game, and Yoshi just went without even thinking for a second._

**Wario**

_-Snap to See-_

Wario was given the role of Camera Hunter in the beginning of the mission Snap to See, after it was declared that whoever touched the camera on the breakfast table first that morning would be guaranteed the role. In fact, he was the only player that morning who even bothered to touch it. Nobody else did.

Vivian: _Just the way he touched it, and the fact that it gave him a key role in our first mission, it made us all wonder whether it was something deeper than just a simple coincidence._

_5 Become 1_

In the end of the 5 Become 1 mission, it became apparent that all the players had to work together in order to succeed in the game and win the maximum money value. However, it was Wario, in both of the first two games, who made the first move to survive on his own, causing the others to fight for themselves as well. In the end, it led to their ultimate failure

_-Cash it or Sink it-_

Wario showed one of his most Molish and questionable actions during Cash it or Sink It, when he returned back from the island with no money in his hand. In the end, his action cost the team one of the bags of 5,000 coins, directly sabotaging the group.

Luvbi: _Wario's strategy made no sense. He was saying that Goombella was going to cash in that extra money, even though she had already refused three bags beforehand_. _But we all failed to see any logic in that. I never thought he could be the Mole, until now._

**Vivian**

_Delfino Duels_

In the Delfino Duels game, Vivian had failed her individual mission against Piantissimo, despite having more advantages than her opponent. In the end, her loss was due to her feet becoming entangled in seaweed, delaying her time.

Luvbi: _It really was suspicious, and maybe Vivian was trying to pass of as a weak player, but the seaweed excuse seemed very unlikely and fishy as well._

_Race of the Rides_

Vivian's ride on the roller coaster was delayed by her silence in the beginning of her round. As she was asked questions one by one, she failed to reach her third question entirely, only being able to be asked two of her three questions in her time on the ride.

_3 questions_

When separated on her own, Vivian gave one of the most suspect answers of the game, answering that she would pick Yoshi to arrive intoxicated on a job, as opposed to Wario. This one move led to their loss, and lost money from the team pot.

Yoshi: _I thought we were just answering for fun and risking it, but Vivian really did answer me for that question...to arrive drunk for a job. Wow._

**All of them suspicious. But just one of them is it. Who is the Mole?**

* * *

"Huh, well, those did bring up some good points," Bobbery said. "But I'm still sticking with my guess for Wario as the Mole."

"Oh come on, I think it's Yoshi," Diddy said, grinning. "Watch and wait."

"I'm even more confident with Vivian being the Mole," Wendy said, almost competitively. "And that's final."

"Well, we won't have to wait much longer," said McHallyboo. Slowly he took out three keys from his pocket, and as he made his way towards the empty wall of doors, the players watched him excitedly.

"Behind these three doors," began the host, stretching his arm out, "are the finalists of this game. Yoshi, Vivian, and Wario all have the chance of winning The Mole: Saboteur's Island. But only one of them..." He lifted up a key into the air.

"Only one of these people will truly win this entire game. One of these people will be awarded the grand prize of two-hundred and eighty-eight thousand coins!" McHallyboo went slowly up to the doors.

"It's so tense," Rosalina said, eagerly.

"I'm excited!" Wendy shouted.

"Are you ready to find out who the winner is?" Everyone in their chairs replied with heavy enthusiasm. McHallyboo put a key into the slot of the first door, then a key into the second slot of the second door, and finally, a third key into the third slot of the third door. Each player now had a key.

"Players," he said, his voice loud and grand. "At this moment...I have given you each a key. If your key opens your door, you are the winner of this game." He stepped back, as the ex-players watched excitedly.

"Players, at this moment, stand up, grab the key in front of you, and try to open your door!"

Yoshi stood up from his bench slowly, grabbing his key before him. With a final breath, he tried sticking it into his keyhole.

Vivian closed her eyes, shaking as she walked up to the door. She grabbed her key and stuck into the keyhole of her door as well.

Wario stood up, walked to his door, and attempted to stick his keyhole into it. Breathing heavily, he twisted his own key. All three players were now trying to open their door.

For a few seconds, nothing happened. Then finally, there was a sharp clicking sound, as everyone turned to see where the sudden sound had come from. It was the left-most door which had made the click, as the door slowly opened.

Everyone held their breath. The winner, the last player of the game, the person who had survived past everyone else, stepped out.

"I can't...believe it."

Vivian stood in her open doorway, standing in disbelief.

"Oh my gosh!" Goombella shouted happily, as the room erupted into clapping and cheers.

"You did it!" exclaimed Rosalina. Vivian's face of shock changed into one of surprised and overwhelmed joy.

"I...it's me?" Vivian laughed, small tears forming in her eyes. "I...I don't know what to say." The clapping was louder than ever before in the room, as the winner was announced to all of them. McHallyboo smiled as the noise went on.

"So she's not the Mole?" Wendy said, a little ashamed. "Wow!" She laughed, as Bobbery shook his head too.

"Well done," Luvbi said, a smile on her face that she couldn't hide. McHallyboo walked up to Vivian, the winner of The Mole: Saboteur's Island.

"Well, Vivian, you are indeed the winner of this game," McHallyboo said, grinning. "How do you feel?" Vivian lifted her head up, looking lost in words.

"I feel...I mean...I never thought it would ever end this way," Vivian said, her voice still full of disbelief, but she smiled. "I just had to believe in myself. I wish I believed in myself more in the past."

"And now you don't have to believe anymore," the host said, smiling. "because you, right now, are the winner. And as the winner, the grand prize and the official title of victory is officially yours." As Vivian wiped the remaining tears that had formed in her eyes, the rest clapped for her more.

"I'm so thankful, guys," Vivian said, smiling, as the clapping died on. "Thank you all."

"And being the winner," the host said, his voice changing suddenly into a different tone, "means you know who the Mole is." Vivian stopped for a second, and then looked at the host.

"Yes," Vivian said, confidently, facing him. "I know who the Mole is." McHallyboo took a single key out from his other pocket.

"This key," said McHallyboo, giving it to Vivian, "unlocks the door of the Mole. Please place it in the slot of his door." Vivian nodded.

"Now that we all know who the winner is, it's finally time for us to discover who...is the Mole." McHallyboo faced the rest of the players sitting in their chairs.

"Are you ready to finally find out who the Mole is?" the host asked.

"Yes!" Almost everyone immediately replied in positive unison, eager and on the edge of their seats in silence.

"Vivian, please do the honor." The players all tensed, as Vivian walked to the right-most door in the row of the wall, as she placed the key into its slot. All eyes were focused as they saw the Mole take the key from their slot, and use it on his own door.

Then, they heard a click.

"The door!" Everyone gasped, as the door slowly opened before their eyes, the figure in the compartment making his way out. Vivian and the host stepped back, making way for the Mole's exit.

"Mole," McHallyboo ordered, standing right besides the fully-open door. "Come out."

The person, the double agent, the saboteur of their entire vacation since the very beginning was revealed to all of them.

The Mole stepped out into the open.

"Hello, guys." Yoshi stood in his open doorway, the key of the saboteur in his hand.

He was the Mole.

"I knew it!" shouted Diddy, being the loudest over everyone else.

"Huh?" The rest of the group was shouting as well, in either amusement or disbelief. Everyone but Boo, Luvbi, and Diddy was struck with surprise and shock.

"Well, I'm still shocked, actually," Boo said, admittingly. "Even though I guessed it."

"Yoshi?" Goombella gasped. "I can't believe it!"

"I'm still confused," Rosalina said, covering her mouth with a stunned smile. Yoshi sheepishly grinned as McHallyboo went up to him, clapping. Vivian just smiled as the clapping went on.

"Congratulations Vivian! You did it!" Yoshi said, giving the winner a hug as he stepped towards ger, as Vivian happily accepted it.

"You were an amazing Mole," Vivian said back to him truthfully, smiling.

"Oh, come on, you were able to solve me," Yoshi replied, his smile big as well.

"There is one person who still isn't with us," the host interrupted, and as he took out a final key, he went and unlocked the door in the center of the wall. The final player, the final victim of the Mole's journey who made it to the very last step of the game, was finally free. Stepping out, Wario came out from his door.

"Wario!" Bobbery spoke out, as the players cheered too, clapping almost as much as they had for the winner of the game. Wario couldn't help but grin, if not a little out of place, but never the less the game was finished.

"Wario, you played a tremendous game as well," McHallyboo said amidst the continuing clapping, greeting the final player that was released from his room. "But alas, you are the Mole's final victim." Wario nodded, understanding.

"Hey, there was a chance," Wario said, speaking after letting out a huge sigh. "I would either be the winner, or the loser. But at least I know. Thank goodness I'm not the Mole though. I would have had no shot at the money, OR the win." Everyone chuckled, Yoshi especially.

"These results were NOT what I expected at all," Wendy said, still fully baffled.

"But it's the truth!" Diddy said. "And I told you I was right!" Wendy just scowled at him from her seat.

"Too bad you didn't know that back then in Episode 4," Wendy ridiculed, as Diddy folded his arms.

"When we come back, we'll find out more of what really happened behind the scenes," McHallyboo said. "The winner and loser's stories will be told, along with a few others'. Who really knew who the Mole was first? And what led to Vivian's victory? How did Wario make it so far? And what did the Mole do? This is just the start, folks." The players clapped again, at their host and the three players before them: the winner, the loser, and of course, the Mole.

* * *

**And at last, it is finally revealed! ****The Mole, after such a LONG, final time, is given to you all: Yoshi Dino.**

**I give a thanks to everyone who voted in the poll. Apparently, it was so close! Which made things even greater xD **

**Though, I dedicate this chapter to all those out there who had great and wild theories on the other players being the Mole. I seriously had a good time reading those, if not impressed by your awesome theories :) So if you didn't guess the Mole, I like you even better!**

**And if you did guess Yoshi, congrats! Maybe your sleuthing wasn't too bad after all, hur?**

**The finale continues! Just how close was Wario to winning the game? And what was Luvbi's relation to Vivian's victory? More is revealed in the next part of the story, so stay tuned!**

**Wario Garlimo _(THE RUNNER-UP)_**

**Vivian Shadens _(THE WINNER)_**

**Yoshi Dino _(THE MOLE)_**


	41. Tales of the Fallen

_**FINALE (Part 2)**_

"Hello everyone, and welcome back to the finale of The Mole: Saboteur's Island! A few minutes ago, we discovered that Vivian was the winner of this game, winning the prize of 288,000 coins. Wario was the final executed player of this game, and Yoshi, after going so many days hiding in secret, was finally uncovered as the Mole."

"More like weeks," Yoshi piped up. The three finalists were now sitting down in their own individual, comfortable and placed among their supportive peers and gamemates.

"Who here is completely, out-of-their-mind, shocked about Yoshi being the Mole?" McHallyboo asked the group. A number of people raised their hands.

"I am," Wendy blurted, facing everyone. "Like, when Yoshi walked out of that door, I didn't believe it. Not one bit." Rosalina raised her hand.

"I always thought Yoshi was so innocent," Rosalina said, "and for a mission, I spent a whole night with him on an island. Never did I suspect him to end up being the Mole." Rosalina smiled at Yoshi, who smiled back.

"How does it feel to finally be uncovered, Yoshi?" the host asked him.

"Oh wow," Yoshi replied, scratching his head. "I'm actually pretty floored, just for the fact that I've vowed to never reveal myself. And now here I am."

"Well, you broke that vow pretty well then," Diddy said, as everyone laughed.

"It's happy to know how much easier things are, well, right here now compared to before," Yoshi said. "Cause many times throughout the game, I actually had to think about what I was going to say. It ruined a bit of my feelings. So I'm too relieved." McHallyboo nodded.

"Mr. Runner-up," said McHallyboo, amusing everyone while Wario shook his head at his new name. "When did you first suspect Yoshi as the Mole?"

"Well," began Wario, trying to remember. "I honestly think it was the second episode. Was it?" He let out a laugh, trying to remember.

"It was definitely early on, I'm sure of that." Some of the players looked surprised at his statement.

"In fact, the reason Wario made it so far into the game was because he was one of the very first people to ever suspect Yoshi as the Mole," McHallyboo announced, as the surprise of the other players grew even more. "Let us see the journey of Wario: the final victim." Everyone turned to the television eagerly, especially Wario, as it flicked on.

* * *

_WARIO'S JOURNEY _

The game began with ten players. Getting off the boat in the beginning, Wario's mind was nowhere in the mode for game-playing in comparison to his nine opponents. Viewing the game not as seriously as the others, his first goal in the game was to find his center balance of relaxation, taking priority over his other goal of discovering who the Mole was.

Wario: _I just wanted to take it easy in the beginning. But I couldn't! I couldn't relax and talk to anyone, because I wouldn't know if they were the Mole or not._

This lead Wario to form the first coalition of the game. Choosing Boo as a partner, their secret alliance was formed.

_Flashback **Boo:**_ "So, coalition or what?"_ (Wario grins, easily accepting the offer)_

Boo: _The Mole would never sabotage like that in the first episode, so I knew for certain that I could trust Wario. Let's see how far I go._

But the pair did not last long. When Boo was executed, Wario panicked. Realizing the importance of the game from his dedicated coalition partner's disappearance, he snapped to reality and had a new view on the game.

Wario: _Boo really propelled me to play this game to my best. There he was, trying his hardest in the game, only to be executed in the first episode, while here I was, not taking the game seriously. You couldn't relax in this world. I finally knew that if I didn't act soon enough, I would be executed as well._

Feeling put off and discouraged over his failed partnership, Wario vowed to work in silence, his strategy becoming one of working alone from that point on. But before he made that vow, Wario turned to a person in Episode 2 for a last, possible chance at a coalition: Yoshi. Little did he know, he almost brought himself into a coalition with the Mole.

Wario: _I didn't call it a coalition, but I wanted to be near Yoshi for one reason._

Wario took the collapsed table at the Island Bash party as his first objective for detective work. It was the perfect piece of evidence to work on. Knowing that Yoshi was the only witness to the table's collapse, he began questioning the Mole, completely clueless that it was actually Yoshi himself that made the table fall.

_Flashback **Wario:** (to Yoshi)_ "Any memory of someone who was wandering around the food tables before the table fell?" (_Yoshi looks to the sky, pretending to remember)_

Yoshi: _I'd also want Wario to know too, that I made the table fall, so that'd he'd stop stalking me, err, obsessively following me with curiosity._

Wario kept his distance away from the other players. Before the second execution, he completely secluded himself from the others and kept his opinions to himself. At that point, he remembered Yoshi's suspicious actions during Air Combination, the very first mission of the game.

Wario: _He completely said those numbers wrong. Maybe it's his character. Or maybe it's more. Or maybe...Yoshi was the one in the first place who actually made that table fall in the Island Bash mission. He could be it._

Keeping his thoughts together into the 3rd episode and clearly suspicious about Yoshi, Wario volunteered to go onto Yoshi's team for the One-Two-Three BLT challenge, taking the chance as an opportunity to study him more.

(_flashback of Wario raising his hand willingly, to volunteer for the BLT mission)_

But this was a bad plan. He was unaware that the Mole was informed by producers just which people were suspecting him at what time. Seeing this as the perfect opportunity, Yoshi turned the tables towards his own favor, doing everything he could to turn Wario away from him, one of the only players who truly suspected him. At the end of the BLT mission, he pretended to be a genuine player who wanted money to go into the team pot.

_Flashback **Yoshi**: _"Wario, no! We worked hard too. Please don't just take the exemption and ignore us. Do it for all of us!" _(Wario turns to look at him, a little surprised)_

Wario's suspicions over Yoshi weren't helped either during the Wiggler Cowardice challenge, where he saw Yoshi win the maximum amount of money for his team by jumping out of the Wiggler's way, adding 5,000 coins to the team pot.

_(as the others cheer for Yoshi's success, Wario only stands and stares at Yoshi, a look of discontentment displayed on his face)_

In Episode 4, Wario tried to shake Yoshi a bit. He tried to guilt-rid him, seeing if his want over the exemption for that episode from the Race of the Rides mission was truly strong. However, his other teammates perceived this act as genuine harshness, viewing Wario as a brutal, rough player from then on.

Bobbery: _Wario took unneeded words, and I even displayed myself how taking the passive side and showing people politely was the proper way to go. That was unneeded._

Goombella: _I didn't think Wario deserved anything after seeing his method of forcing people to do things_.

Wario's unintentional sabotages through many missions of the game led Goombella, Vivian, and Luvbi to suspect him as the Mole. However, he continued on, keeping his eyes only on Yoshi, becoming even more convinced he was the Mole after his acts in Snap to See and The Fungi Prediction. At the end of Episode 5, his strategy to work in solitude became noticeable to the other players, stirring suspicions.

Goombella: _He didn't talk with ANYONE the entire day before Execution 5. I tried talking to him, and he simply ignored me. I barely even saw him in Pianta Village that day._

Vivian: _It's either Wario, or Yoshi...I'm so torn between my choices._

Going into the final four of the game, Wario was fully set on Yoshi as his suspect. He also suspected that his only opponents left, Luvbi and Vivian, were working together, but he wasn't phased over this fact at all.

Wario: _They're in a coalition. I'm in solitude. One of these strategies will succeed._

In fact, his biggest concern was losing to Luvbi, the player he thought was his strongest and biggest opponent.

Wario: _If anyone might cause my fall in this game...it might be Luvbi. We all know she's tricky, cunning, and can beat anyone in intelligence. So if I can get past her at least, I'm definitely aimed for the victory._

But he was wrong. With Luvbi gone, Vivian was in the final round of the game. Wario realized he had underestimated Vivian when he discovered one thing: she was his biggest opponent the entire time. Her skills were overshadowed among everyone else's actions throughout the game, and went unnoticed by Wario until the final round.

Wario: _Well..maybe beating Luvbi wasn't my only worry. Going into this final episode...is Vivian really stronger than all of us?_

Wario tried rattling Vivian, making wrong moves in the 3 Questions game. But it was too late to change Vivian's mind.

(_flashback of the end of Round 1, where Wario and Yoshi failed to find Vivian)_

In the Hotel mission, Wario said a line to Vivian, hinting not only at their acknowledgment that they knew the final battle was between the two of them, but that Vivian herself had a strong chance at winning the game over him.

_Flashback **Wario**:_ "Good job. If this whole thing is correct **_(the hotel mission answer)_**...then maybe I have to reconsider some things about the end of this game." _(Vivian looks puzzled at Wario's line, but later understands)_

Both were set on Yoshi for the final quiz, but in the end, it was Wario who succumbed to the game's final round.

_(Wario looks over at Vivian on the island, after he finishes his quiz, only to see that she is already finished)_

**_EXECUTED _**

However, his game did not go lost or undefeated. Wario kept his feelings hidden, and though he appeared as the character of grumpiness and disinterest in the game, he did let out his hidden passion for the game at some points.

_Flashback **Wario: **(before Execution 6)_ "All right, this game has been annoying, but, I like it a lot. In fact, I may in fact love it. And yes, I used the word 'love'." (_Everyone else smiles with surprise)_

The player, who everyone thought was only set on winning the money in the beginning, actually came to the game in the first place for the experience of a journey. And it was a journey well played.

Wario:_ I said I came here for the money, and that was probably a lie. There's something about this adventure that was irreplaceable, and I won't forget it. And yes, I'll probably never admit to anyone else, how much of an adventure I had and how much fun I had. This game has been tiresome, of course, but at the same time, awesome. _

* * *

Everyone clapped loudly for the runner-up, as Wario laughed and tipped his cap at the same time. The television turned off.

"So Wario, did you just not feel like playing in the beginning, or did you secretly want to win the whole time since the start?" McHallyboo asked him.

"Hmm, well, the game just sounded too confusing," Wario said, shaking his head, "so after hearing those instructions on that tape in the beginning, I just wanted to run away." Everyone chuckled.

"But yeah," Wario said, turning to Boo. "This guy really helped me see the game. So with that, I'm glad to have made that coalition with him." Boo nodded, grateful.

"Glad to know I helped, even though I didn't last long," Boo said, chuckling a bit himself.

"This game was something great, and it's like you read my mind," said Wario, looking at the television. "I had no idea what was in store. I didn't really come here for the money...well, the thought was appealing." He laughed. "But I wanted something that was an adventure, and this was it." Everyone nodded, smiling at the runner up's true intention.

"Wendy, you thought Wario was the Mole when you got executed," McHallyboo said, pointing to her. "What made you think that?" Wendy thought for a second.

"I think it's cause he was acting really suspicious, especially during the BLT challenge," she said. "And on top of that, I thought it was a good cover up, trying to act tough and all. So that's why I thought it was Wario."

"Heh, tough," Wario said. "I tried sometimes to be tough, but failed on occasion."

"On the final quiz," announced McHallyboo. "Wario, you had a score of..." Everyone waited in soft silence.

"Thirteen questions out of twenty."

"Not bad," said Wario, nodding, a little impressed at his score, which he thought was going to be a result much less. "Not bad."

"And now we continue! Now Luvbi, you played a very interesting game," said McHallyboo, as the players all turned to her.

"Oh, well, that's questionable," she replied. "But I did make some moves that even I myself thought about in wonder or questioned."

"And through almost the entire game, you had a coalition with the game's ultimate winner, Vivian," McHallyboo said, then looked at the camera. "Little did people know, this coalition was stronger than any other coalition in the game, and also helped Vivian reach her final spot in victory. But first..."

"Oh dear," said Luvbi, covering her face a bit. "Did you do a documentary on my life in this game as well?" Everyone else laughed and smiled.

"Well, we think you deserve your spotlight," McHallyboo said, grinning. The television flicked on.

* * *

_LUVBI'S JOURNEY_

Since the beginning of the game, Luvbi stuck out as the most suspicious player on the island. Her actions throughout the first episode brought her to the attention of the others immediately.

_(flashback of Luvbi choosing Journal #3 at the lunch table, on the game's first day)_

Boo: _HOW did she know that Journal Number 3 would be granted the role in tomorrow's mission? That's cheating._

By choosing the lucky journal on the game's first day at lunch, to sinking Diddy's bag for an exemption in Bag Savers, she displayed a number of ruthless and suspicious acts that caught the attention of everyone else in just the very first episode.

Diddy: _She...sank, my, bag. Un. For. Givable. No one does that in a game. Shake my head, Luvbi._

She also made a few enemies too, though they were short-lasted.

Wendy: _UNG! I can't stand her.__ Someone get rid of her now and get her out of this game. Please._

* * *

Wendy laughed out loud in her seat, along with the other players. She looked at Luvbi.

"Okay, that confession was out of desperation," Wendy said, shaking her head. "Sorry."

"No harm," Luvbi said, smiling as well.

* * *

However, it was a coalition with Vivian that went unnoticed by the others for most of the game. Even as early as Episode 2, Luvbi and Vivian were shown having a tight bond, helping each other throughout the games.

_(flashback of Luvbi winking at Vivian during the pre-Island Bash mission, urging her to speak on) **Vivian:** "If you…want to have a good time then just come to the party!" (Vivian smiles back at her with relief)_

Unbeknownst to the others, they formed a coalition amidst the party during Episode 2.

_Flashback **Luvbi: **_"I trust you entirely. I just ask for us to share our suspicions with each other. No lies. Just honest opinion."

_Flashback **Vivian**: _"Okay. I'm not sure if I'll be good at this, but I'll try my best. I'm happy to trust someone so early in the game."

Luvbi also discovered her keen ability to deceive others. After Episode 2, she discovered that the sole cause for Rosalina's early downfall was the fact that Rosalina had suspected Luvbi since the beginning of the game. Rosalina went for Luvbi on Quiz #2, executing her.

**_EXECUTED_**

_ Rosalina: **(post-execution) **I can't believe Luvbi was a genuine player. I felt so sure, but in the end, I was completely mistaken off track. I guess she'll be fooling a lot more people from now on._

And Rosalina was right. Luvbi used her suspicious demeanor to her own advantage, toying with it to deceive the others.

Luvbi: _I needed to get rid of my biggest enemies...I wasn't worried about the Mole in person. The people I were most frightened of were those I knew weren't the Mole._

Earlier in the game, Yoshi was actually one of Luvbi's potential suspects. But on the top of her lists were Bobbery and Wario.

_(flashback of Luvbi looking suspiciously at Bobbery because of the missing dictionary during Cocomero Correto, which one of the producers secretly stole on the last round)_

Luvbi fought to eliminate two opponents she believed could jeopardize her game: Diddy and Goombella. Before Episode 4's execution, Luvbi tried to influence Diddy's thoughts on who the Mole was, deciding to share her false suspicions on Vivian with him. But unknown to her, Diddy's suspect at that time was in fact Vivian. In the end, this only enforced Diddy's suspicions onto the wrong path.

Diddy: _(secret confession) So Luvbi tells me she suspects Vivian too. Perfect. Maybe if she makes it past this around with me also, I'll know that I'm in the right direction._

Diddy was executed that night, during the game of Execution Roulette.

**_EXECUTED_**

Though this may have looked unfair, fate played its right role that night. Because unknown to anybody that night, including Diddy himself, Diddy WAS in fact meant to be the Mole's next victim in Episode 4, had the execution been a normal one. In return, this meant that Luvbi had successfully steered Diddy away from the Mole.

Luvbi: _All of a sudden, I realized I was knocking everyone off. One by one._

In Episode 5, Luvbi began to take action to eliminate her biggest enemy: Goombella. In that episode, she did all she could to rattle Goombella. Her plan this time was to do everything she could to make Goombella believe she was the Mole.

Luvbi: _I needed to bring Goombella down. She was the most intelligent one here. If I do the right things in this game, I could trick her and bring her off the right path._

Luvbi started her strategy of eliminating Goombella in Snap to See. Being in the perfect role as Goombella's message-deliverer during that game, almost all of Luvbi's mistakes in that mission ended up being deliberate. She sabotaged on almost three different occasions during that game, from not reading a Picture Objective clue completely to giving an incorrect suggestion on a photograph goal.

_Flashback **Goombella**:_ "Luvbi, you said that we needed four Piantas!"_ (Luvbi holds her smile in)_

The plan was working. But what perked Goombella the most was Luvbi's suspicious action during the Fungi Prediction, where Luvbi barely reacted to her pepper's spiciness at all.

_Flashback **Goombella**:_ "Don't you want a glass of water?"

_Flashback **Luvbi**:_ "Why? The taste would go away anyway." _(As Luvbi looks reaction-less, Goombella eyes the plate of mushrooms suspiciously)_

Luvbi did all the things she could do to throw Goombella off. In this case, Goombella believed that Luvbi had previously trained for the mission, being secretly accustomed to the so-called "spicy" pepper. Goombella even vented out her suspicions to the others.

_Flashback **Goombella**: ""Your mouth just doesn't lose spiciness as soon as you devour the food. Luvbi is getting even more suspicious, thing after thing. And they never end."_ (Bobbery and Yoshi just continue looking at her, shrugging and contemplating)

After Bobbery's execution at the end of Episode 5, Luvbi continued her charades as the Mole. In the end, Goombella finally succumbed, the final strike of Luvbi, coming from her action in Cash it or Sink It. In that game, Luvbi had successfully beat the mission by stealing the metal pot from the island, sinking the boat and taking away Goombella's exemption. To Goombella, this was the final Mole act that made her vote almost completely for Luvbi. She was executed.

_**EXECUTED** _

In the final four, Luvbi was now determined that the Mole was Yoshi, having voted questions on him more than any other player on the past three quizzes. In fact, Luvbi steered her coalition partner, Vivian, away from thinking Wario was the Mole, just in time to save her.

Vivian: _Now that I look back, it makes so much more sense that Yoshi is the Mole, over Wario. I was saved by Luvbi. If it wasn't for her, I think I might have lost the game already. I'm so thankful. _

Luvbi knew from the beginning that her coalition parter, who was also her opponent, was a strong one. Before the end of the penultimate episode, where Luvbi met her fate, the two of them shared one of their last heart-warming conversations that brought new light, not only into the game they were playing, but into their friendship as well.

_Flashback **Luvbi:**_ "No. You made it here on your own and that's the reason why you are here. I know you're not the Mole, and I'm sure the reason you're here today is because you've been your intelligent self." _(Vivian smiles, happy and grateful)_

And that night, Luvbi met her end.

**_EXECUTED_**

But Luvbi left a mark in the game, having been one of the most unique, strategic, and clever players of the entire game. Though she had her controversial moments, she had her many other moments of pure smartness and character that always managed to surprise and impress the other players around her, to no end. No doubt, Luvbi was the person who was always meant for a game like this.

_Flashback **Luvbi**: (at the end of her execution, smiling at the camera)_ "Good luck...and you know who you are."

* * *

The players clapped, as Luvbi, for perhaps the first time in the entire game, looked back with a humble but pleased feeling.

"I really didn't even know all that information about my own self," Luvbi said honestly.

"Now that we know the truth, Goombella, did you know that you were being personally victimized by Luvbi through the end of the game?" Both Goombella and Luvbi laughed at this phrase.

"Well, I wouldn't call it personally victimizing," Goombella said, shaking her head. "But at times, I knew I was falling right into her trap. In the sixth episode, you only had like so many people to choose from. And, well, I guess I chose Luvbi."

"Your strategy was almost the opposite of Luvbi's, in a way," said McHallyboo. "In the latter half of the game."

"It really was!" Goombella said, remembering. "I remember saying, since Episode 5, that I was no longer trying to pretend to be the Mole. I was just playing the game to my best. I guess my brain was being overworked so much."

"Rosalina, what made you suspect Luvbi as the Mole so early?" McHallyboo questioned, turning to the second executed victim.

"Hmm, well..." Rosalina said, regretful but smiling. "It's definitely my fault for picking so surely and early. But I was Luvbi's roommate in the first episode, and she was acting as if she was trying to turn me _away_ from suspecting her, when I brought up that durian incident with the journals.

"Which is STILL suspicious," Boo said, shaking his head as people laughed.

"So I thought it was her from then on," finished Rosalina. "And her overall demeanor was very hidden and questionable."

"Diddy, how do you feel now, knowing that you were always meant to be executed anyway in Execution Roulette?" McHallyboo asked, as the players all laughed, surprised all over again. Diddy chuckled and shook his head.

"Well, first of all, the other players could have saved me," he said, giving everyone else a false, stare of evil. "But I guess it was fate. Nothing else, really. Except now I won't even think anymore, 'What if the execution was normal?' So I guess there's no more guilt."

"Say, the two players we saved from that game were Vivian and Yoshi," Bobbery said, as everyone made a sound of realization. "Perhaps this might contribute to the fact that they're both the final two."

"Illogical, but interesting," Goombella said reasonably. "More like a foreshadow in a novel-story sense."

"I guess luck AND fate played their roles throughout this game," McHallyboo said whole-heartedly. "Luvbi, any final words of your journey played?" Luvbi thought.

"Well, I hope that no one feels any ill feelings towards me for my method of playing," Luvbi said out loud, "and I'm happy to have made an insignificant enemy, as well as a friend, of Wendy Koopa."

"We were SO fre-nemies," Wendy said with a grin. "But no hard feelings at all, anymore. I swear."

"Oh, and your Old English seemed to have disappeared gradually throughout the game," Bobbery pointed out to Luvbi. Everyone chuckled with realization.

"Yes, well, the reason holds naturalness," Luvbi reasoned. "Being surrounded by all of you for such a lengthy duration of time, it was inevitable. It will probably come back after a month or so." Bobbery looked skeptical at her explanation.

"When we come back, we will uncover the journeys of two more important players," said McHallyboo. "The winner, Vivian, and of course, the Mole." Vivian smiled, while Yoshi folded his arms.

"Technically, we all know that Yoshi was never a player," Boo couldn't help but say. Everyone agreed, nodding.

* * *

** The journey of Wario Garlimo given! Along with the journey of one of the most questionable and strategic players of the game, Luvbi Nimbis. Great games played, no? And hopefully some mysteries were solved as well with their explanations. **

**But next up, the story of the winner, Vivian Shadens, is given! How did she play, and what led her to victory? And then Yoshi's game and tactics from the very start to the end are revealed. The finale continues more.**

**;] Stay tuned for Part 3!**


	42. Victorious Disclosures

**Who has the guts to break off a finale revealing with a multi-month gap? Huh? Oh, me, you say? Haha well yes, you're right o.o**

**I'll apologize later for my late beings x( but thank you all for waiting! The next part of the finale, below!**

* * *

_**FINALE (Part 3)**_

"Welcome back to the finale of The Mole: Saboteur's Island!" McHallyboo said, straightening his bow out as grandly as ever. "You had previously heard the stories of the game's runner-up and seventh executed player." Both Wario and Luvbi nodded respectively.

"You still don't know all of my secrets," Luvbi said with a hint of slyness.

"Oh come," said Diddy. "Even after the game's all over, you're still mysterious." Everyone laughed.

"Now it's time," began McHallyboo, "to see how the winner, Vivian Shadens, did it all. How did she play to win the game? Who did she suspect? And what things did she do and discover that made her reach the spot of victory at the end? Let's take a look."

"All right!" As the television flicked on, everyone, including Vivian, watched excitedly.

* * *

_VIVIAN'S JOURNEY_

Going into the game, Vivian didn't know what to expect. She began the game clueless, getting off the boat at the game's start with as little knowledge and confidence as possible.

Vivian: _I was terrified of what would await me. I didn't want to take a wrong step._

Trying to gain confidence in the first game, she volunteered to make a move that surprised everyone: jumping out of the plane first in the opening mission of the game. But even still, she began the game shaky. She began giving impressions to the other players as appearing either weak or quiet, not fitting into the aspects of the game.

Rosalina: _She's quiet when we're all in groups. Maybe she just has a hard time adjusting into the game._

Diddy: _Vivian doesn't seem that strong of a player. Hmm, maybe she'll get executed early._

In Bag Savers, Vivian formed an innocent friendship with the deadliest player in the game: Yoshi. Being his partner for the mission, Vivian thought little of Yoshi as being suspicious, and temporarily put him off her list. She had eliminated the Mole from her list of suspects in Episode 1.

_Flashback **Yoshi** (during Bag Savers): A'right, let's do this! (Vivian smiles as they help to create more durian juice for the game's second mission)_

Vivian felt safe enough to rely her suspicions on just a few suspects, which in the game of the Mole, was a deadly move. However, she passed the first episode with luck. Her suspects included Luvbi and Boo, but at the top of her list was Wario.

Vivian: _It could be him...he's my first guess so far. I'll definitely try voting for him._

In Episode 2, Vivian made one of the most important moves of the game when she befriended and formed a coalition with one of the most sly and sleuthing characters of the game, Luvbi.

Luvbi: _In a way, I helped her. While everyone else was possibly suspecting me, Vivian learned to trust me. I saw it inside Vivian that she was nothing else but a genuine player._

Vivian told her partner about her strong suspicions about Wario. His actions in the Island Lockdown mission of holding the map upside-down, combined with his acts of sabotage in Episode 1 during the Air Combination mission, finally mixed with his clueless demeanor throughout the game, were all indicators that made Vivian focus more heavily on the man in yellow. This suspicion went through heavily for the first three episodes of the game, and even after that, continued to persist.

Vivian: **(pre-execution)** _Maybe he's trying to cover the whole truth up by acting tough and "brainless". I'm just not sure. He could be a genuine player, but I don't think so._

In Episode 3, Vivian's actions in the Cocomero Coretto game began to make her a potential suspect for the Mole. She began stirring up suspicion when she struggled in her physical ability to push watermelons. However, the truth was, Vivian wasn't making any efforts to act as the Mole at all. Never the less, she managed to gain a few suspects.

_Flashback **Diddy:** (during the Watermelon mission)_ "You all right?" _(Vivian nods, her hands clutching her hips)_

Goombella:_ She's acting really suspicious! I don't know what's up with Vivian. She never acts this way._

In Episode 4, her game play during Race of the Rides didn't go unnoticed either. Again, Vivian still managed to gain a few suspicious eyes to watch her, notably from Diddy and Bobbery.

Vivian:_ I do not like roller coasters at all. I was afraid that we'd end up having to ride it in the first place, and I guess I was right. The drops, and the dizziness afterwards…I just don't like them._

But this time, there was a plan behind it all. Before the mission that morning, on the boat towards Pinna Park, Luvbi pulled Vivian to the side. Luvbi realized that her coalition partner was being watched as a prime suspect by a few of the other players, and decided to turn the games a bit.

_Flashback **Luvbi**: (to Vivian) _"I want you to try and mess up the next game a bit. Just a bit. Do any little thing you can do to put suspicion onto yourself." _(Vivian nods, a little hesitant but surely)_

Vivian:_ I trust Luvbi on this. She's helped me a few times already in this game, so I'm going to do what she says._

And the move that Vivian made during Race of the Rides was a perfect one. On the roller coaster, she decided to go silent for a few seconds, skipping a whole question during her time on the roller coaster. She was playing the Mole.

Bobbery: _I say, Vivian's acts in the Race to the Rides mission were less than satisfactory. Her acts of suspicion are piling up one by one._

That episode, Diddy was executed after having gone strongly for Vivian, and the episode right after, Bobbery fell victim as well. Both players had gone individually for Vivian Shadens.

However, what really made the players suspicious, as well as made Vivian such a strong player in the game, was that she barely wrote in her own journal at all. She kept her note writing to a reasonable minimum, memorizing large sections of information in her head.

Wario: _I've rarely seen Vivian using journal. Does she even know what it's used for? Or maybe she's the Mole and doesn't need to take notes. Possibilities, possibilities._

This fact of Vivian writing so little in her journal was also seen in the game Page 6, where the final journal page, Vivian's, was shown as blank.

_(McHallyboo holds the blank journal page in the air at Pianta Village, as the others look at it with disbelief and confusion.)_

_ Goombella: V__ivian is really one of the smartest people here. __I just don't know how she pulls it off. There's a reason why she's made it so far into the game._

However, even with her intelligence at that point, Vivian still couldn't pinpoint fellow player Yoshi as the Mole. As the number of players dwindled down, Vivian thought that Yoshi was just another player on the same path as her: unsure and relying mostly on luck to survive through the game.

Vivian: _I think Yoshi and I are on similar paths together, and it makes me more relieved that people like him are still around._

With Vivian being such a suspicious player in the eyes of the others, she caused the downfalls for both Diddy and Bobbery. When Luvbi discovered this and told Vivian, Vivian was shocked.

_Flashback **Luvbi **in Episode 6**:**_ "Bobbery suspected you, I think." _(Vivian's eyes widen)_

Vivian: _I really don't know what to say...I didn't mean to executed them. I know it's not my fault, but still._

Vivian's emotions began to toll into her game play. Her confidence and will to win began to drop lower as the sixth episode came into play. She was the first one to be eliminated in 5 Become 1, and during the Sky Bottle mission, Vivian was one of the only players who didn't bother to even attempt for the secret bottle message.

Luvbi: _The game was definitely taking a toll on her. I had to bring her back, to beat everyone from stopping us. If her confidence in this game gets any lower, she won't make it._

But once again, her coalition partner Luvbi pushed her back onto her feet. In the Cash it or Sink it mission in Episode 6, it was Vivian who discovered the secret aspect of the mission, the metal pot, in order to prevent Goombella from getting the exemption.

_Flashback **Vivian: **_"I think she's hiding a metal pot or something from us...maybe you use it to sink the boat!" _(Luvbi and Yoshi look impressed at her finding)_

Yoshi: _Vivian is definitely one of the most intelligent players here. She shows it, but tries not to show it. It's pretty amazing._

In fact, this wasn't the first time Vivian was able to pinpoint a secret key element of a mission. In the Fungi Prediction game, she became suspicious when she realized that seconds after Bobbery had been seen climbing to the top of a tree on television, he was safe on the ground just moments later, safe and unhooked. She began to conclude that the footage on the television, that showed Bobbery's journey through the game, was prerecorded

_Flashback **Luvbi:**_ "Why would the footage not be live then?"

_Flashback **Vivian:** _"Maybe the Mole was shown the footage before...and knew exactly what Bobbery would do!"

Using this theory, they went back and realized that Yoshi, throughout the mission, always went against the correct answer for a majority of the questions.

_Flashback_ **Yoshi: **(during Fungi Prediction) _"I would say it's common to avoid the boxes. Why lift a leg when you can just walk instead?" (the others nod in agreement to him)_

Though this pointed Luvbi more in the direction of Yoshi, Vivian was still put on her decision as Wario as the Mole. Now, it was nearing the end of the game, into Episode 7.

Vivian:_ It was either Wario or Yoshi. I mean, I've been so sure it was Wario, but could it be...Yoshi_?

It was almost last second when Vivian finally changed her mind and realized the truth. After spending valuable time with Wario during Delfino Duels, and studying Yoshi in a new perspective during the entirety Episode 7, Vivian began to realize the mastermind behind Yoshi's actions. It was all thanks to Luvbi, who gave Vivian the info of Yoshi's actions while she was sequestered from him during Delfino Duels.

Luvbi:_ We had no idea how much the fruits cost, but after the game, I realized the ones he picked were the most expensive. He made sure our total value in the basket was overpriced. _

Vivian:_ But how did he act about it?_

Luvbi:_ Purely innocent. Vivian, I tell you, he's not as innocent as he may seem. He is the saboteur._

Vivian looked back at almost every mission up to that point, and realized little things she had not realized before that Yoshi had done subtly. All of a sudden, it began to make sense. And at that point, she had also mentally concluded that Wario had been going after Yoshi all this time.

_(during dinner before their last mission at Noki Bay, Vivian notices Wario eye Yoshi suspiciously as the dinosaur talks)_

But nothing would have prepared anyone for Vivian's decision to forfeit an exemption into the final round, during The Sacred Pot game, a choice chosen at good will. Never the less, Vivian still managed to move on, even past her coalition partner Luvbi.

Vivian:_ She helped me so much. I couldn't have made it here without her. But before she was executed, Luvbi told me that it was all within me. And I had to use the rest of my strength to win the game. _

In the final episode, Vivian spent all of her spare time finally writing down her thoughts and notes into her journal, all the way from since Episode 1. With such a good memory, Vivian was even able to get down vital bits of information, pieces of info that even helped her on the final quiz. For example, she had correctly remembered when Yoshi had gotten off the boat in the beginning of the game, and what Yoshi did during certain events throughout the missions. All of this lead to a victory that no one, not even Vivian, saw coming.

Vivian: T_aking that final quiz, I couldn't have felt more nervous and unsure. I just had no idea...how well I actually did._

Starting off as one of the weakest players of the game, Vivian made a turn around with every episode and mission she passed. And slowly, her confidence grew as well.

_Flashback _**Rosalina: **(during Episode 2's Island Bash): _"Who drew this painting? It's so beautiful."_

_Flashback_ **Vivian:** _"Oh, uhm...that's mine."_ (The others turn and gaze at the drawing with awe)

She was able to conquer her fear of incompetence with every round that she endured through throughout the game. Vivian also played the game with a heart of kindness and humbleness, unlike most of her other opponents.

_Flashback_ **Vivian: **_"I'm not taking that exemption into the final round. I can't. I'm doing this for the team."_

And in the end, she found herself as the winner of The Mole: Saboteur's Island.

Vivian: _It's impossible to describe how my experience was, in one word. It's impossible to describe it in a thousand words. But if I had to, this game has been...nothing short from amazing. I'm so happy to have been a part of this. _

* * *

Everyone clapped loudly. Most of the players were also cheering victoriously as well, as if they had won the game themselves. But Vivian just sat in her chair, smiling with shyness. Overall though, she was happy, relieved, and confident.

"Yes, I hereby congratulate you," Bobbery said, "for tricking me upside-down. Well done!"

"Vivian, you totally deserve it!" Goombella said with a cheer. "Go Vivian!"

"Thank you, everyone," Vivian said, smiling and looking around at her friends.

"Vivian, how was it having to wait four months to find out you were the winner?" McHallyboo asked her. Vivian shook her head, smiling.

"Well, I didn't really know if I had won or not," Vivian told them all. "All I could do was wait, I mean, I couldn't do anything else. I felt like I had tried my best, and I was happy."

"And you did indeed, because you are the winner," said McHallyboo, as everyone around her clapped once again. "Amazing job, Vivian. Any words to Luvbi?" Vivian turned to her coalition partner who was sitting besids her, and with a smile and a laugh, she hugged her tightly.

"So many," she said truthfully. "Luvbi, you helped me, more than I can say. I don't know where I would have gone without you. You made the game so memorable for me, and meeting someone like you in such an...unpredictable, nerve-wracking game, was like a wish come true. So I'm so happy." McHallyboo wiped a fake tear away, but a few of the players were emotionally touched as well.

"We both enjoyed the game, and for that, I am happy too," Luvbi replied, her smile being genuine.

"Did you truly not suspect Yoshi until the penultimate episode?" asked McHallyboo. Vivian shook her head, as Yoshi laughed.

"I did, at many times, but...I just wasn't sure. I just needed that confidence booster," said Vivian. "People like Wario made me think otherwise and threw me off the right track. And people like Luvbi helped me get back on."

"So I guess I was a good suspect," Wario concluded with satisfaction, looking at her.

"Yes, a great one," Vivian said with a smile. "You had me very fooled Wario! You really did."

"How many questions, on the final quiz, do you think you got correct?" said McHallyboo. Vivian just shrugged her shoulders, having no clue.

"Out of the twenty very difficult questions, you were able to get...seventeen correct." The crowed gasped, and even Vivian had a face of shock.

"Wow, you definitely deserved to win," Boo said, chuckling. "Seventeen on the final quiz? Never. Not even Luigi got that much!"

"Well, she w_as_ smart," Wario said, nodding with truth. "Well done."

"Yoshi, any words to the winner?" said the host, as everyone turned to him with smiles and anticipation. Yoshi smiled, folding his arms with a smile in his chair.

"Yep, well, a lot!" he said, "But, err, most of all, I'm glad you won, because I definitely saw it in you to win, ever since the beginning. And we made really good friends. That's what surprised me."

"Well, who wouldn't make good friends with Vivian?" Wendy said out loud. "Even still in the game of the Mole, you were one of the good players!" Vivian smiled gratefully at her words.

"And now we know how our winner did it," McHallyboo said, facing the audience. "But we must know now, how did the Mole do it? How did the saboteur, from the very beginning of the game, do his job as the Mole? Let's hear his story." Everyone turned to Yoshi again.

"Dang, here goes my credibility as a good person," Yoshi said, grinning at the television.

"Oh, we already know you're not the innocent dinosaur that you seem to be," Rosalina said teasingly. As the television flicked on, everyone watched the Mole's journey.

* * *

_YOSHI'S GAME_

Yoshi took the jumping start in the game, appearing as one of the most innocent players. Ambitious, curious, and appearing even sometimes clueless, he was the last person the players suspected in the game as the Mole.

Diddy: Y_oshi? Naw, it can't be him, he's my best_ friend.

Rosalina: _You just love him and he's so friendly. Definitely the last person to be the Mole, I would say._

_Flashback **Goombella**: (while discussing with others) "Yoshi as the Mole? Possibly. A hyper Mole." (Wendy, Vivian, and Goombella all laugh, shaking their heads)_

Being assigned the job of the Mole by the producers for his high intelligence, Yoshi's strategy was to hide his intellect from the other players throughout his play. He interacted with the players at a level that made them feel both comfortable and superior. That way, they would underestimate him as the Mole.

Bobbery:_ He seems less knowledgeable to me. Maybe I can mentor him._

Also, Yoshi was additionally selected as the Mole for his prior knowledge of the area, something he gave away in Episode 7 towards the end of the game.

_Flashback **Yoshi: **_(at Noki Bay dinner table)_ "It's crazy. I mean, I've been here before." _(Wario almost spits out his drink in disbelief)

Both Boo and Wario were among one of the lowest scores on the quiz of Episode 1, due to the fact that both of them, working together, decided to cross off three players that they deemed were impossible of being the Mole. On that list was Yoshi.

Boo:_ Maybe he'll last long, maybe he won't. But I don't think he's the Mole._

**EXECUTED**

Before each mission, the producers would inform Yoshi of key elements of the game and certain places of possible sabotage. However, it was Yoshi who improvised most of the risky moves during most of his missions.

Producers:_ Okay, try to hand out as little advertisements as you can for the Island Bash party._

Yoshi:_ You think I should sequester myself from the group so that they wouldn't see what I'm doing?_

Producers: _That sounds like a good idea, but it's too risky. The others might question your reason of disappearance._

Yoshi:_ I'll find a way to pull it off. I'll make it look to them as if separating from them is a good thing. It'll be super easy._

Also, in nearly every game, Yoshi was provided with a built-in audio chip so he could hear crucial messages from the producers and camera men around him. When something crucial had to be said or done, Yoshi was notified right away.

_Flashback **Producer: **"Quick, the other players are coming! Act like you're advertising!"_ (Yoshi thrusts a page into a bewildered toad's hands, just as Diddy, Vivian, and Luvbi turn the corner during the Island Bash game)

Also on many nights, Yoshi would sneak out of his hotel room to have brief conferences with the show's producers as well.

_(deleted scene of Yoshi sneaking out of his hotel room, with Bobbery's snoring being heard in the background. Yoshi faces the camera with a triumphant shrug)_

At the end of every episode, the producers made sure that Yoshi was aware which players were suspecting him, at what times, and on how much of a level. When Wario started suspected Yoshi early on at the end of Episode 2, Yoshi was caught off guard, having had nobody confront him before in such a direct manner.

_Flashback **Producer:**_ (talking to Yoshi in an empty hotel room) "_Goombella voted four questions for you...might have been coincidence. Luvbi suspects you third on her list. But Wario is definitely onto you. Next mission, do what you can to stir his suspicions. An exemption will be offered somewhere in the next mission, involving food. Try to persuade somebody not to take it. Look innocent."_

_Flashback **Yoshi**: "Gotcha." _

_Flashback **Producer:** "Oh, and we sneaked into Wendy Koopa's Journal. It doesn't look like she suspects you at all. In fact, if you manage to stir her away from you any further in the next episode of Episode 3, I'm afraid she might find herself going home in the near future."_

**EXECUTED**

However, one of the hardest people for Yoshi to keep his secret concealed from was from none other than his own love, Birdo. When Yoshi and Birdo were reunited during the Relatives Ride game in Episode 4, for an entire day, it was a moment of silenced tension and guilty feelings that hit the Mole.

Yoshi:_ I vowed the day I became engaged to Birdo to never keep any secrets away from her. But at the same time, I had signed a contract 3 weeks ago that made me vow to not tell anyone I was the Mole. I began to question which was stronger. So it was very conflicting. I never felt guiltier in my life. Birdo...I'm sorry._

Birdo wasn't the only person that Yoshi had an emotionally-conflicting connection with in the game. Ever since befriending Bobbery, Yoshi felt helpless, knowing that he wasn't allowed to guide Bobbery, a person who obviously did not suspect him, towards the right path to victory. He tried everything he could to be honest with Bobbery throughout the game, even speaking to him in riddle form.

_Flashback **Yoshi: **_(end of Episode 5 in Pianta Village) _"I've been going for a certain player, and I've been surviving. Does that mean that both of us could be on the right track?" _

_Flashback **Bobbery**: "In a way, it could be so."_(looks confused, but then nods pleasingly to Yoshi)

Yoshi:_ I couldn't just say to Bobbery, "Bobbery, I'm the Mole!" It was so hard and difficult. He was such a good player, a great friend, and I knew he wasn't going to last long. I couldn't do anything._

_**EXECUTED**_

Yoshi also made friends with the game's player of intellect, Goombella, especially in Episode 6 of the game. In that episode, they worked together to defeat their difficult and intense mission 5 Become 1.

_Flashback **Goombella**:_ (facing the row of tranquilizer needle machines before) _"Are you ready?"_

_Flashback **Yoshi**:_ _"Let's go!"_ (both players run forwards with fear but determination)

Yoshi was sent into the game not knowing its true elements, and when he and Goombella realized the truth of the mission in that all five of them could have survived each game, it was genuine discovery. Using teamwork, they were able to beat the game together. From that moment, Goombella and Yoshi got closer.

Goombella:_ Yoshi is such a great guy, I mean, making it to the end of the very epic 5 Become 1 mission with him was really one of the most memorable highlights of my game._ _He's my favorite one here! Compared to that Wario...ergh. It's just bad vibes. And Luvbi is obviously the Mole._

_**EXECUTED**_

In Episode 7, the day that the players met Toadette, the Mole from Season 1, it seemed to everyone as if she had left Noki Bay after just greeting the players for five minutes. In fact, she was sent to Noki Bay to help none other than Yoshi, meeting with him secretly afterwards and offering a session of useful advice and tips to him about the final episode of the game.

_Flashback_ **Toadette: **_"The last episode is one of the most important moments of your entire gameplay. I regret not sabotaging enough, and if I were to play again, I would have messed up as much as I could in the 3 Questions Game._

_Flashback **Yoshi:**_ "Sounds great! But, you see...I don't exactly know what the 3 Questions Game is, Toadette."

___Flashback **Toadette: **_(chuckles)___ "Well, then let it be my pleasure of explaining it to you..."_

In the final episode of the game, Yoshi did successfully sabotage heftily from the team pot, but only for the first two missions of the final episode. In Hotel Lockdown, the game's final task, Yoshi was determined to make one last move: a good deed for his teammates as a normal player.

Yoshi:_ Strangest feeling...I did feel sort of good working with the others. It's like, without me, they couldn't have won. I actually liked helping the team. Vivian and Wario both taught me valuable lessons that final round, something nobody had ever taught me before._

Never the less, Yoshi kept his true attitude of enthusiasm and jumpiness alive through the game. Despite hiding most of his true identity as the Mole, Yoshi kept his upbeat and enthusiastic personality alive.

Yoshi: _Keeping my true personality as an optimistic and happy person, it really helped to keep in me__ the fact that I wasn't completely an artificial, false person. I was the Mole, but I could still be myself. So it was very reassuring and inspiring._

He was even able to make a special friendship connection with the game's winner, Vivian, even until the very final episode.

_Flashback **Vivian:**_ (after answering the last 3 Questions game question) _"It's not like...it's true or anything, whatever Wario answered for me. Right?" _

_Flashback **Yoshi:**_ _"Hey, you're totally right. Let's do thi__s. It's all...dumb questions anyway." _(both players exchange smiles with one other)

Even though he was the Mole, Yoshi was considered one of the most amiable and friendly players of the entire game by his peers, through each episode. Though one side of him was the independent, conniving Mole, the other side that he displayed to everyone else was his true side, one of joyfulness, enthusiasm, and zealous feelings.

Yoshi:_ It is a little ironic, being liked by the others. But who says you can't like the Mole? Even if I was doing everything to destroy them, the others still liked me, and for that reason, I guess I liked them back too._

For that reason, Yoshi goes down as one of the most adventurous and likable Moles in history.

* * *

Everyone clapped for the saboteur of the game: the spy, the double agent, the Mole of their entire game. Yoshi was grinning from ear to ear.

"Wow, so you knew every mission that was going to happen?" Goombella said with shock. "You seemed so clueless in Five to One!"

"That's acting for you," Luvbi said, smiling. "Even though I knew Yoshi was the Mole at that point, his acting was still superb."

"And I believe I caught you picking that ear piece one time when we were running during Bag Savers," Boo said surely. "Yes, now I'm certain."

"Yoshi, Toadette of the other season said at last season's finale this line of advice for a future Mole," McHallyboo said our loud, taking out a piece of paper from his pocket to read. "She said, 'Never, ever drift away from your real personality, and you don't always have to lie'. Did you think that was true for you?" Yoshi almost immediately nodded.

"Yes, that advice is so true," Yoshi said with agreement. "I mean, I was still myself. A LOT. Maybe almost ninety-nine percent of the time, but you know, I'd just drop an object here, forget a piece of info there...sabotage." Everyone laughed and smiled.

"But I was definitely still myself, even though I was the Mole," Yoshi concluded. "And I didn't always lie. I actually told the truth a lot!"

"Huh, I find that hard to believe," Diddy said, looking back at the game and folding his arms. Yoshi smiled sheepishly.

"Oh, and Bobbery, how do you feel about Yoshi now?" McHallyboo said, turning to the admiral.

"Well fiddlesticks, am I supposed to feel any differently for this lad?" Bobbery said, scoffing with conclusion. "Mole or not, he's still the top-notch and spunky lad he used to be. Couldn't have been more proud of the way he played this game." Everyone clapped, not only for Yoshi but for Bobbery's words as well.

"Aww," Yoshi said, a smile of appreciation on his face. "Thank you, Bobbery. You were a great player!"

"What was the hardest part about being the Mole?" McHallyboo asked Yoshi. Yoshi thought for a few seconds.

"Huh, well," Yoshi began, "I think it was me wanting to help the team at so many points. I like seeing people happy, and, well, people are happy when they win, aren't they? But everything I did in the game, every action and every move that I had to perform, only brought them closer to losing. So that was the hardest for me, seeing people fail."

"You did so well though," said Wendy. "And you really were a friendly player!"

"I'm glad I still liked you in the game, even if you were the Mole," Rosalina admitted.

"Unfortunately, we haven't revealed all of your secrets yet," McHallyboo said, trying to hide a grin from appearing on his face.

"Where's the documentary on McHallyboo?" Boo couldn't help saying. Diddy next to him chuckled.

"Up next!" continued the host. "We will see how Yoshi Dino played the role of saboteur in each of his missions, sabotaging almost every single mission since the very beginning of the game." As the players' faces all held looks of surprise and disbelief, Yoshi just smiled, knowing the true truth behind it all.

* * *

**Vivian and Yoshi's stories, revealed! The winner and the Mole. And still, yet still more to come.**

**I apologize for not updating sooner! Hopefully you all forgive me! But collaborating all this information was a bit of a challenge, and I'm happy I could present it to you all :)**

**Oh, and I now go to college at Rutgers University (for anyone who cares about the author's irrelevant status x.o ahehe). Heh, so I've been busy because of that as well.**

**But next to be revealed, all of Yoshi's sabotages in every single mission! What did he secretly do behind each one? Where did those coins really go in the Casino game?**** And if he sabotaged nearly every mission, does that contribute to the malfunctioned ear piece in Race to the Rides (cough yes). Haha. Enjoy next update!**

**YOSHI: AND MAKE IT SOON! **

**Me: HOKAY! **


	43. An Agent's Actions

**Hallo! I introduce to you, in much shorter time, the fourth part of the finale's end! **

* * *

_**FINALE (Part 4)**_

"Hello!" The host flashed his smile, as the players settled back in from their lunch break.

"Welcome back to the finale of the Mole," said McHallyboo. All the players were shuffling back into their seats and ruffling their clothes out, knowing they were back on air. Yoshi in particular made sure he was looking his best, knowing he was on the spotlight.

"Last part, the stories of the game's winner and Mole were told to all. Vivian, the winner of 288,000 coins, used her hidden intelligence and inner strength to win and become the victor in the end, and Yoshi, the Mole, had many of his secrets revealed."

"Not all of them," Yoshi whispered.

"So, do we all get a documentary on each of our gameplays?" Goombella joked to the host. Everyone laughed. The host shook his head.

"All game long, Yoshi had committed acts of sabotage, many of them having gone unnoticed," McHallyboo announced. "Right now, we will see a complete mission-by-mission reveal of Yoshi's sabotages throughout the game Are you ready to discover what he did?" The audience replied in positive cheer, curious.

"Let's take a look." The television was flicked on.

* * *

**Sabotage of the Mole**

Being the Mole, Yoshi's job throughout the game was to sabotage not only a significant amount of cash from the team pot, but to sabotage as discreetly and as subtly as possible. Though some of his moves were out and obvious, many of his acts of sabotage went either overlooked by the others or were completely disregarded. In fact, at the end of the game, it was revealed that Yoshi sabotaged nearly EVERY mission of The Mole: Saboteur's Island. But how did he do it? Let's see what he did.

* * *

**Episode 1 :**

**Air Combination**

The players had to relay numbers back to their teammates, who in return had to skydive out of an airplane.

"I was determined to sabotage in the first mission of the game. The producers were very against it, thinking it would be too suspicious, but I mean, come on! It wouldn't be any fun not doing anything, and on top of that, I was the Mole. I was set on making my first move here."

The combination for that game was seemingly lost, due to Wario's actions. When he was relaying the combination to Boo, Wario couldn't remember it.

_Flashback _**_Boo:_**_ (before jumping out of the plane)_ "You can't even remember a 3-digit combination!" _(Wario scratches his head, clueless)_

Or was it his fault? Take a flasback look back to when Yoshi was relaying the numbers to Wario via radio. Listen to the way he delivers it.

_Flashback _**_Yoshi:_** "It's Yoshi! The combination is eight, six, and four, repeat! Eight, six, and four, last one being four, first is eight, middle six. Confirmed!"

"I purposely made my message to him as confusing as I could. The manner of how I said those numbers to him, I mean, not even I would have been able to understand or memorize that. I'm surprised it worked, and the best part was, no one suspected me! I was inspired. It was my first sabotage of the game! Many more to come. "

_SABOTAGED: **10,000 coins **_

**Bag Savers**

"In this game, I was paired up with Vivian. We had to make enough durian juice in order to open a chest, which would give us numbers that would complete our task. At that point however, I never knew how smart Vivian was."

There was a secret element in the game that was unreleased to the audience and viewers. If either Vivian or Yoshi looked into the refrigerator in the cafe during their game, they would have seen a spare pitcher of durian juice, which they could have been able to use to complete their task.

_(flashback of Vivian looking at the refrigerator of the cafe suspiciously, then stepping towards it)_

"Vivian definitely found the refrigerator suspicious, and I was freaking out because I knew she was going to walk up to it. I had to do something to stop her. So I pretended to panic."

_Flashback _**_Yoshi:_** "No!" _(Yoshi gasps and shouts out, while Vivian runs back to the table alarmed)_

_Flashback _**_Vivian:_** "What's wrong?"

_Flashback _**_Yoshi:_** "The color...tells that it's, umm, rotten." _(Vivian's eyes widen, walking back to him)_

If Vivian had discovered and used the secret pitcher of durian juice, they could have released Bobbery from his umbrella fourteen minutes ahead of time, giving him a plethora of time to save more bags. In the end, two bags had sank to the bottom of the ocean on their own, costing a thousand coins each. All thanks to Yoshi's quick thinking.

_SABOTAGED: **2,000 coins**_

* * *

**Episode 2**

**Island Bash **

Knowing that the Island Bash mission was multi-layered, Yoshi was eager to mess up the party mission as much as he could.

"For our first part, we had to advertise the fliers for our party, but I had no intention in spreading word of the party. In my head, the best way to not be found suspicious was to be sequestered from everyone else. So I requested to go away by myself to advertise papers. Second, I needed a true alibi. I said I would go to the boat dock of Delfino Plaza to advertise my papers."

_Flashback _**_Yoshi:_** "Oh! The dock will probably have new tourists coming in every thirty minutes, so if I just wait there and give them fliers to our party, they might be interested in attending."

_Flashback _**_Diddy:_** "Smart!" _(hands Yoshi a huge pile of fliers)_

In truth, the reason Yoshi chose to go to the dock was because he knew that no boats would be arriving until later that afternoon. That way, in case anyone had asked him what had happened, he had a true excuse and story to tell people. He managed to waste over one-hundred flier papers.

At The Party

Yoshi made one of his most infamous moves during the party of the Island Bash, when one of the legs of the tables, due to a loosened screw, fell.

_Flashback _**_Yoshi:_** "Gah!" _(Yoshi shouts as the table before him falls to the ground, sending food and silverware into the sand and four guests to the ground. Everyone surrounds the scene to help)_

"Yes, it was easy to unscrew that table beforehand. Who else could have done something like that near the tables, except the waiter himself? I do feel bad for that one Noki girl, who fell in the sand and got sand on her dress. I'm grateful she got a refund though. But I had a blast watching the others suspecting each other. Wario had a little clue of who did it, I must admit. But everyone else? Nope! Not one bit."

Yoshi's act of not handing out fliers earlier in the mission, mixed with the refunded money from the guests whose table collapsed, all contributed to the team not reaching their second quota in order to win the full twenty-thousand coins for the game.

_SABOTAGED: **10,000 coins**_

**Island Lockdown**

"In Island Lockdown, our job was to basically to carry two large, oversized metal poles to the end of a jungle labryinth maze. Making it to the end of the jungle maze full of sensor sirens alone was hard enough, but with two giant poles in our hands? Heh...heh..."

The true answer for the game was for all nine players to support each other through the jungle by carrying all the necessary objects, the volleyball net, auction item, and screw, then disbursing each assigned item to a team once they were on the other side of the island, to the departing boat. However, the team never thought this out.

"Diddy was basically giving up, and at one point, he asks if I could even lift the pole. I pretended that I couldn't."

_Flashback _**_Diddy:_** "Can you even lift one of them?" _(Yoshi goes up to one of the poles, pretending to struggle to lift one for ten seconds before falling to the sand in an exhausted heap. Diddy kicks the ground, giving up)_

"I probably could have carried that pole myself. But Diddy just gave up, after seeing that I couldn't do it. He didn't even touch the pole himself to see if I was lying or not. We could have easily carried that pole to the end! He just gave up, and I contributed to it. Spending a night on Island Tarasp was well worth the lost money."

_SABOTAGED: **5,000 coins**_

* * *

**Episode 3**

**One-Two-Three BLT**

Yoshi's first obvious sabotage was in the mission of 1-2-3 BLT, where he had to find a key hidden within a floor of tomatoes. He made sure to volunteer for the role of the Tomato-task player, knowing that the role of the Tomato player had the chance to sabotage more than any of the other roles.

_Flashback _**_McHallyboo:_** "Each harmed red tomato in the process will penalize 1,000 coins, so foot placing is apparently key." _(Yoshi nods at him)_

_(later flashback of Yoshi crushing a tomato, while trying to hop aboard the metal grating. Wendy's groans of frustration are heard)_

"I ended up crushing at least a good six or seven tomatoes. I made Wendy really angry. Sorry Wendy!"

Yoshi ended up destroying seven tomatoes in total, each one costing one-thousand coins apiece. However, another reason that Yoshi initially chose the role of the Tomato player will be revealed later at the end of the finale.

_SABOTAGED: **7,000 coins**_

**Wiggler Cowardice Challenge**

Yoshi was the only player that mission to win 5,000 coins with his successful jump from the Wiggler. Despite this however, he still managed to sabotage. But how?

"When I succeeded in that game, it was to deflect suspicion off from myself. But then it felt so incomplete! I didn't even sabotage. So I did something extra, just to keep my reputation as the Mole up."

Listen to the advice that Yoshi gives to Diddy, the person who jumped in the game after him.

_Flashback _**_Yoshi:_**_ (to Diddy)_ "Count a full second before you actually plan to jump. It comes slower than you actually think. And also, plant your feet into the foot sand markings as much as possible, to keep a jumping posture. Then you can just jump at the exact moment you want to. And don't be scared!"

"Everything I said to Diddy was the opposite of what I had done. It was the poorest, most faulty advice anyone could hear for that game. And gee, poor Diddy. I had manipulated him once again for an act of sabotage, but this time, it was a little more...violent. I hope he forgives me."

_(flashback of Diddy getting hit by the Wiggler full force, flying at least fifteen feet back into the ocean. Luvbi's mouth is agape with shock)_

What made it even better was that Luvbi, after seeing Diddy get hit by the Wiggler, refused her turn completely. Yoshi had taken two players down, costing five-thousand coins each, with just a few smart words of his own.

_SABOTAGED: **5,000 coins**_

* * *

**-Episode 4-**

**Race of the Rides**

Wario: _The ear piece incident wasn't an accident. Whoever thinks it was an accident is out of their mind. Goombella is the only possible person who could have done it. _

Goombella:_ Wario had the ear piece directly in his pocket when he handed it to me. If Wario's the Mole, then I'm the only one who knows that he sabotaged that ear piece. Who else could have done it?_

It was neither Wario's fault, the person who gave the ear piece to Goombella, or Goombella's fault. It was Yoshi's.

Like Toadette's boat sabotage during the Hostage mission from Season 1, Yoshi had a special out-of-game task in store for him that mission. For the Race of the Rides game, Yoshi was equipped with an electronic remote in his pocket, one which would interfere with the radio frequency of the ear piece that the people on the roller coaster were using. First, Yoshi had to be guaranteed a role as an exemption grabber, not a player on the roller coaster. This was done easily thanks to Diddy.

_Flashback _**_McHallyboo:_** "Unanimously, choose two players who know the location of Pinna Park the best." _(Diddy immediately picks Yoshi, and the others agree)_

"The next part of my sabotage was the most difficult task ever. While running around Pinna Park, I had to find the right opportunity to take the device out, tamper with the frequency enough, and then hide it back. The only problem was, Luvbi, my partner, was costantly by my side 24/7."

(_flashback of Yoshi reaching for his pocket with a nervous look on his face, as Luvbi and he both ride the Noki Shells) _

"One suspicious move and I knew that Luvbi would be right on my heels. I had no opportunity to do it! The producers strongly recommended that I tamper with the remote before we got to our third ride, the Swinging Ships. Before I knew it, we were already on the second ride: Yoshi-Go-Around. I needed to improvise fast! Then I had the wackiest idea to get rid of Luvbi...I fell to the ground."

_Flashback _**_Luvbi:_** _(stunned, seeing Yoshi fall off completely on his carousel mount)_ "Yoshi!"

_Flashback _**_Yoshi:_** "Get the next ticket...please._" (gasping in false agony, as Luvbi shakes her head and runs off to the ticket stand alone)_

"As soon as she was out of sight, I snapped into action. I took out the electronic machine and did my work."

_(Yoshi toys with the analog stick, which begins to distort the message he hears from the audio on the roller coaster. He smiles, then shoves it back into his pocket just as Luvbi comes back with the third ticket)_

A few minutes later, it was reported that the ear piece malfunctioned on the roller coaster. Everyone thought that either Wario, Goombella, or at least someone on the coaster platform who had sabotaged the piece. But it was the Mole.

_SABOTAGED: **20,000 coins**_

**Relative Rides**

Halfway into the game, McHallyboo offered to automatically reunite a player with one of their relatives, for the price of 5,000 coins. It was Yoshi who vehemently fought to persuade the group to take the offer, in order to lose the money.

_Flashback _**_Bobbery:_** "Logical, but what if our final four rounds are all successful? Certainly it'd be a waste with that path."

_Flashback _**_Yoshi:_**_ (using his fingers to show the others) "_Well, it's a one out of sixteen chance. I'd go with it. If we can save one person and let them see a loved one, then it's better than them not seeing their loved one at all, as well as losing 5,000 coins."_ (Goombella and Vivian nod)_

And it worked. Right after Yoshi's explanation, Goombella and Vivian both agreed into the majority to take the loss of 5,000 coins, in order to reunite a loved one.

___Flashback _**_Goombella:_** (agreeing with Yoshi) "Yeah, I don't think money is the issue. I'd rather have a win-lose than a lose-lose. I'd go with it."

_Flashback **Vivian**_**_:_** "Me three."

"I didn't care if the relatives got reunited or not, really. I just wanted the money lost."

_SABOTAGED: **5,000 coins**_

* * *

**-Episode 5-**

**Snap to See**

Yoshi tried to appear as if he was playing the hero of this mission, dodging Wario's every move. However, before he purposely got himself shot and eliminated, he made sure to default one of the pictures, costing five-thousand coins, during the game.

"The rules stated that no one else besides the players could take a snapshot. So I saw a Pianta and decided to give the camera to him, letting him take one of the required photographs."

_Flashback **Yoshi**_**_:_** "Please do me a favor. See those bees over there? I need a good picture of that nest, but it's not exactly easy and it's near a cliff that goes down a thousand feet."

_Flashback **Pianta**_**_:_** "Hah, that'd be easy! I keep those bees as pets!"_ (Yoshi handed him the camera with no hesitation)_

"And in the end, I broke the rules. I tried acting upset about it, but in the inside, I was dancing."

_SABOTAGED: **5,000 coins**_

**Page 6**

_** "**_In this mission, I was chosen to predict the reader of a journal entry twice. The first time, I messed up on purpose. I guessed the reader was Luvbi, but it obviously wasn't her."

_Flashback **Yoshi**_**_:_** _"Luvbi?"_ (Luvbi shakes his head, as McHallyboo nods to confirm the incorrect answer) _"Darn!"_

"The second time I had to answer, I felt like I had to get it correct, or else it would be too suspicious. I now regret that."

Because of Luvbi's discovery at the end of the mission of the last journal entry being Vivian's, the players had fully won the maximum value of the mission. This marked the first game that the players had completely succeeded in a game, winning the maximum amount of money available for a mission.

_**Game Won** _

**The Fungi Prediction**

"I had to sabotage this mission after last night's failure at the Jacuzzi! I felt like a work-aholic. In the Fungi Prediction, during our guessing of Bobbery's moves, I made sure to go against every right answer."

_Flashback_ _**Vivian**_: "What would Bobbery do?"

_Flashback **Yoshi**_**_:_** "He'd probably respect the tour guide and not correct him."_ (the others nod with consideration)_

Looking back, Yoshi went against the correct answer in every single question he debated in. But how was Yoshi able to do this? Uncovered earlier in the finale in Vivian's story, it was revealed that the footage of Bobbery walking around the village was pre-recorded half an hour earlier. Yoshi had seen the footage beforehand, before the players even began playing their mission. Thus, he knew the correct answer for each of Bobbery's situations.

"Then when it was my turn to eat a mushroom, I wanted to sabotage. I couldn't say that I couldn't eat it, because being Yoshi, well, everyone expects me to be able to eat everything. So I tried to break the rules by eating before McHally said go."

_(flashback of Yoshi stuffing the mushroom into his mouth, as McHallyboo jumps to stop him)_

_Flashback **McHallyboo**_**_:_** "Yoshi! I stated that you had to eat a mushroom within an allotted time. And you did not. You did it within a negative time zone."

_Flashback **Yoshi**_**_:_** _(sulking)_ "Not…not fair."

"I also caused Vivian to have to eat her mushroom too. I acted just as I had at the end of the Snap to See mission: upset and bitter. But naw, I wasn't mad. I was rather proud of myself."

_SABOTAGED: **10,000 coins**_

* * *

**-Episode 6-**

**Five Become One**

The players had to face a series of grueling tasks that tested their morals, which at first view, appeared as if someone had to be eliminated each round. In fact, all five players were meant to survive each stressful and dangerous challenge of the mission. Each person who made it to the end added money to the team pot.

"In the 5 Become 1 challenge, I was instructed to escape fourth in the first game with the Cells. That way, the whole system of five of us surviving wouldn't come into reality. I would rig it so that Vivian was guaranteed to be eliminated in the first round. So I used my boot at the last second in an unfair advantage."

_(flashback of Yoshi throwing his shoe at the door button in front of him, freeing himself but trapping Vivian)_

Yoshi also worked to guarantee a player's disappearance by panicking in the beginning of the game, panicking and preventing the others from being able to think the game out.

_Flashback **Yoshi**:_ "I just wanna get out of here!" _(crying and pulling forwards, causing a chain reaction that pulls the cords of the others_)

_Flashback **Goombella**: _"Yoshi, calm down!" _(she and Luvbi attempt to pull him back)_

"Though, I had no idea what the qualities of the game were gonna be. I was thrown in there, as confused as the rest. When Goombella and I worked together to discover the end...that was real stuff."

Yoshi was initially assigned to get eliminated in the second game, Storm Shelters, where Wario ruthlessly left him to get sucked up by the roaring pipe. In fact, Yoshi wanted to get pulled into the pipe, so that the rest of the mission would follow the pattern of eliminating a person each game. But Luvbi's actions changed plans around. Instead of Yoshi getting sucked into the pipe, Wario ended up taking his place.

_Flashback **Luvbi**:__ "One of us does have to be left behind. And it's you." _(lets go of box, which hits Wario and distracts him)

In the final three of the mission, Yoshi was forced to play the rest of the game with no prior knowledge of what dangers were in store. Regardless, Yoshi was the grand saboteur of the game.

_SABOTAGED: **40,000 coins**_

**Cash It or Sink It**

Yoshi sacrificed himself, and his dryness, to save a last 5,000 coins that were floating in the water towards the end of the Cash It or Sink It game. Being one of his rare moments of helping the team, Yoshi did this significant action of redemption not only so that it would stick out to his playmates, but with the mentality that someone else would have swam for the money anyway.

_Flashback **Yoshi**: _"I got it!" _(jumps into the water to retrieve the floating money, before Wario or Vivian could take action)_

"I mean, either Wario or Vivian would have ran out anyway to save the money and bring it to the island before the time ran up. So I decided to be the one to do it before any of them decided to do so. So I looked like the hero! And I was the hero! But in a sneaky way.

**Game Won**

* * *

**-Episode 7-**

**Delfino Duels**

With the game of Delfino Duels split up into three different task games, Yoshi took this opportunity to sabotage as much as possible.

**Fruit Value:** For the players' first task, they had to guesstimate how many fruit totaled up to the value of between 100 to 115 coins. Being a fruit expert, Yoshi was able to sabotage this completely.

"I wanted to overshoot the price. I did this by telling Luvbi that certain fruits were cheap, when in fact, they were fairly expensive in today's economy."

_Flashback **Luvbi**: _"Where do we go first?"

_Flashback **Yoshi**:_ _(points to a mango stand) _"See that? Mangoes are cheap, and it'll be easier to estimate with cheaper objects."_ (both of them walk up to the stand)_

"So we ended up getting all these expensive fruits, and Luvbi believed that they were cheap and was recording their prices down. So this resulted in us getting much more than 100 coins worth of fruits, but instead, a value of roughly 170 coins."

_Flashback _**McHallyboo_: _**"You totaled...one-hundred and sixty-eight coins." _(Yoshi and Luvbi's drop)_

**Fruit Steal**: In their second task, the team had to steal fruit from the marketplace.

"This mission seemed so difficult! The reason being, stealing is illegal and breaking the law in general is just...difficult? So all I had to do in order to lose the mission was to be caught stealing."

Yoshi assigned themselves so that he was responsible for the physical action of stealing while Luvbi was responsible for the job of distracting. Even though Luvbi did a good job diverting attention away from Yoshi by causing a commotion, Yoshi made sure to prolong his act of stealing and make it as conspicuous and suspicion as possible so that someone would catch him.

_(while Luvbi causes a small commotion, Yoshi just continues stuffing avocados into his pocket, fruit by fruit, in an obvious intentional manner. As a lady spots him, the game breaks out in chaos)_

___SABOTAGED: **1****0,000 coins**_  


** The Sacred Pot**

Yoshi wanted to get eliminated from the cave as soon as possible. The less people left alive at the end of the mission, the more of a chance Vivian would succeed in winning and stealing the pot's exemption, losing money. In the second round of the mission, a +1 was offered to anyone who sacrificed their spot. Yoshi made it look as if he was desperate for the item.

_Flashback **Yoshi**:_"But...it's a plus one. It's the final execution until the last episode. I have to make it there. I want to make it there!"

_Flashback **Luvbi:** _"We can all make it there...fairly! Just, don't do this. If you do this, there's one less person on guard to defend the intruder!

_Flashback **Luvbi:**_ "And if I'm executed...this very moment will haunt me...forever." _(Yoshi exits the cave, leaving one less person as a guard)_

"Not only was I able to eliminate myself from the game, but I also took the opportunity to look like an innocent player. I mean, what would the Mole even be able to do with a +1?"

However, in the end of the game, Vivian took the brave action of not stealing the final exemption of the game, winning the full value for the team.

**Game Won**

* * *

**-Episode 8-**

**Three Questions**

"Going into this game, it was really surprising seeing everyone sabotage in their own ways. Wario and Vivian were really trying to make each other suspicious! First off, Wario was delivering this weird logic that Vivian couldn't hide anywhere else but inside a house, so he was choosing answers according to geographical location."

_Flashback **Wario**: (to Vivian)_ "We thought you couldn't hide anywhere else but inside the building, so we went there."

"Then Vivian answered a question saying I would arrive drunk for a job more likely in comparison to Wario. Even I was like, 'Huhwhahwa?'"

_Flashback **McHallyboo**:_ "The first question I asked you was, 'Who is more likely to get fired on their first day of work for arriving intoxicated?'"

_Flashback **Vivian**:_ "I answered Yoshi." _(both Yoshi and Wario are dumbstruck)_

But Yoshi's own sabotage was during his own round, when the players had to answer questions about him. Yoshi made sure to guarantee at least one of his answers wrong, so he took attempts at all his questions to sabotage.

_Flashback **McHallyboo**:_ "The second question asked was, 'Who is more likely to join a cult dedicated to violence?' Wario or Vivian?"

_Flashback **Yoshi**:_ Heh. I chose Vivian for that." _(Vivian's looks a bit surprised)_

"I also screwed up the first answer for them, which was, 'Which person would you trust to drive you to the hospital in time if you were on the brim of dying?' I said I trusted Wario more than Vivian to drive me to a hospital on time. Ha...ha...haha. I mean, I'd trust Wario for other things, but just not for that. He'd probably crash the car."

___SABOTAGED: **1****0,000 coins**_

**Casino Potluck**

Yoshi's biggest and final acts of sabotage was during the final episode of the game. In this game, the players each began with 5,000 coins and could double the amount of winnings in their collection. Yoshi earned the lowest amount out of the three, with an ending of only 1,200 coins. However, how was he able to lose so much cash in the short allotted time?

"At one point, when no one was looking, I dumped the money behind one of the slot machines. Yeah...I mean, it was perfect."

In fact, when Wario questioned a Pianta staff member later about chips, the employee states that he found chips near the slot machines, the last place where Yoshi had been spotted in the casino.

_Flashback **Wario**: _"You didn't happen to see any leftover chips located around here, did you?"

_Flashback **Pianta**:_ "Yeah, umm, I think I saw a chip or two lying around. Check over at the mini slot machines, I saw some there."

Leaving over three thousand coins at the slot machine table, Yoshi was able to slip off his suspicious move without a single hint of detection.

___SABOTAGED: **3****,800 coins**_

**Hotel**** Lockdown**

Like the Mole of Season 1 who didn't sabotage in the final mission of the game, Yoshi decided to follow in her footsteps and do the same thing. In fact, at many points during the game, it was Yoshi who helped lead the team to victory at the right moments.

_(flashbacks of Yoshi finding the secret combination on the milk carton and dropping the key down the drain to Vivian's room)_

"I mean, I'm not all the bad. Maybe in that final mission, I was able to redeem myself. Fifty-thousand coins. Then again, I think I may have sabotaged a_ little_ more than that amount throughout the entire game. Hehe!"

* * *

In the end of the game, Yoshi proved to be an amazing saboteur of stealth and cleverness. Not only did he sabotage in nearly every mission of the season, but he was able to do it in ways that were subtle and barely noticed by the other players. And whenever his sabotage was obvious, Yoshi used his acting skills and amiable character to throw people off. He was even able to improvise his own moves of sabotage throughout the game, making him more of the successful and innovative Mole that he was.

In the end, Yoshi was able to sabotage, in an astounding amount, fourteen out of the eighteen missions that were played throughout the season. He single-handedly kept **142,800 coin**s from going into the team pot.

* * *

The players were flabbergasted and impressed.

"Wow," said Diddy, twitching. "That's...so much...cash. More than a whole fourth!" He faced Yoshi with a false glare of evil.

"You're mad?" Bobbery said with a slight scoff. "I'm rather impressed! All under our nose, he snuck it all from us! Well done!" Bobbery started a small clap that went throughout the crowd.

"Nah, I'm still mad about that Wiggler mission," Diddy muttered, as people around him laughed.

"I'm just so GLAD that the earpiece malfunction incident on the roller coaster was finally cleared up," Goombella said, sounding relieved with a smile. "I couldn't take the mystery anymore. I was sure it was Wario who did something."

"Hmm, well," added Luvbi to Goombella. "It must have either been you or Wario who malfunctioned the ear piece. That was a tricky move, Yoshi. I was leaning more towards Wario though."

"Well, thanks Yoshi," Wario said, tipping his hat to him slightly with a grin. "You were on my side, making people suspect me. Maybe I owe you." Yoshi shrugged and chuckled. McHallyboo faced the camera triumphantly.

"You have all just seen how Yoshi sabotaged the game through every mission of the season. The finale is almost concluded!" A small groan was emitted from the players, who smiled half-heartedley due to the concluding finale.

"Wait, hold it..." came the voice of Boo. "Didn't you forget-"

"Coming up next!" finished McHallyboo before anyone else could speak. "All the hidden clues that led to the identity of the Mole will finally be revealed!" Boo closed his mouth, chuckling with everyone else.

* * *

**There you have it! All of Yoshi's sabotages, as well as missing plot lines, revealed. Poor Boo just loves being cut off by the host, eh? Haha.**

**Of course, the final clues will NOT be forgotten.** **There were over 30 hidden clues located within (and out) of the story, if not more, that pointed to Yoshi Dino's identity! Which ones did you spot?**

**My file which held the location of each and every clue within the story was deleted when my old laptop broke down. So I apologize if this final part takes longer than usual! I promise, it will not be more than two weeks though :)**

**The story is almost done! Just one final part for you all! Enjoy and stay tuned!**


	44. The Finale's End

**THE END! CAN'T BELIEVE IT'S HEREE! RAWR! **

**Heart-attack Dx**

**...story cancelled :( ...**

**Nah, I kid y'all! I hope you enjoy this super end!**

* * *

_**FINALE (The End)**_

"Welcome back," said McHallyboo. "Previously, we had uncovered the Mole's acts of sabotage and everything he did throughout the entire game that thwarted the efforts of the other nine players. Yoshi Dino was indeed the great Mole, his actions going undetected by the others until almost the very end." The players applauded with high agreement.

"However," began McHallyboo, a small smile entering onto his face, "there were a large number of clues hidden throughout the story that would have hinted you towards Yoshi Dino as the Mole as well."

"The...story?" Wendy asked, flabbergasted. "What story?" McHallyboo waved his hand, shaking her sentence away.

"I think I caught one," Goombella said, trying her hardest to remember back. "You were reading a magazine with a strange title in Episode 2 during the Island Bash game, McHallyboo. Was that a clue?"

"I remember in Blooper's letter, there was a mention of a dinosaur somewhere," Rosalina recalled. "I'm certain of it." Yoshi closed his mouth before he could speak.

"Well, time to wait no more," said the host, facing the camera. "Let us see all of the hidden clues of Saboteur's Island!" The television turned on.

* * *

**The Hidden Clues**

There were many clues hidden throughout that would have helped you pinpoint the Mole of the game. Mixed in difficulty, many were out in the open, while a few were cleverly hidden unless scrutinized and examined closely. All of these would have hinted and lead you to the identity of the Mole. How many of these did you find?

* * *

_**Episode 1 Clues:**_

1) Digited Appearance

In the players' first game, the full combination that they were to relay at the end of the game was_ **8645124096. **_The entire combination was uncovered when Boo found the slip of paper during Bag Savers. But how was this important?

If you look at the numbers, you will see that it consists of a special pattern of increasing powers of eight: **8, 64, 512, 4096.**

8 by itself equals **8, **8 x 8 equals **64**, 8 to the third power is **512**, and 8 to the 4th power is **4096**.

This indicates that the number **8** is important in some way. But how? In the very first intro of the game, the players are introduced one by one as they get off the boat. The 8th player to be introduced is Yoshi.

2) Sirena Beach

When the players arrive at their hotel for the first night, Yoshi is reading a brochure that displays a picture of Sirena Beach. When Yoshi complains why the group isn't going there, I state to him, "It's only the beginning Yoshi".

Indeed, it was only the beginning for Yoshi. The last location of the entire game would be at Sirena Beach, a location where Yoshi was guaranteed to reach in the final episode, but for only one possible condition: if he was the Mole.

**_Episode 2 Clues:_**

3) Pattern of Death

When the players during Island Bash arrive back to the hotel, they see me, McHallyboo, reading a fake magazine with the title, _The Pattern of Death Will Be Broken_.

This is a reference to the past stories written by author krisetchers, their plotlines involving deaths and patterns. Yoshi starred in two of krisetchers' other stories, The Next Death Will Come and Coming Forward. In both stories Yoshi was always the second character to die within the main group of characters.

Being the second episode in The Mole: Saboteur's Island, obviously someone would be eliminated second. Since Yoshi was the Mole, it would be impossible for him to be the next one to "die", or be executed in the story, because the Mole is never executed. Thus, the pattern of death, a.k.a. Yoshi dying second in a story, was automatically guaranteed to be broken.

4) The Island CD

When Rosalina and Wario are controlling the music of the Island Bash party, they spot the name of the song that's playing on a disc, called, "_Drover's Foe_". The players disregard it as a boring song.

However, if one were to anagram the song's name, they would see that _"Drove's Foe"_ could be unscrambled into the phrase "FOOD SERVER". The player serving food at the party that night was the only waiter present, Yoshi.

_**Episode 3 Clues:**_

5) "Appeared Once Again"

In the intro of Episode 3, it says that the Mole_ "_appeared once again before a victim". This could have been disregarded as metaphorical talk, but there was actually a literal meaning to it.

Look at the order that the names were entered in the first two executions of the game:

Execution 1: _Wendy, Rosalina, Diddy, Vivian, Yoshi, **Boo.**_

Execution 2: _Goombella, Diddy, Wario, Bobbery, Yoshi, **Rosalina.**_

Yoshi's name was entered right before Boo in the first execution, as well as right before Rosalina in the second execution. In the end, Yoshi did indeed "appear once again before a victim", in both their executions.

6) BLT Acronym

When the One-Two-Three BLT mission was explained to them, I said that **B.L.T.** could stand for many things. I stated that in this occasion, it would stand for Bacon, Lettuce, and Tomato. But what else could B.L.T. stand for? **  
**

These letters coincidentally acronym the three final players from the first season of the Mole: **B**looper, **L**uigi, and **T**oadette.

If we used this acronym key, then that means that the player in the **T**omato leg of the race would also stand for **T**oadette, who was the Mole. Yoshi chose himself to be in the tomato leg of the race, landing himself in that symbolic spot of the letter **T**.**  
**

_**Episode 4:**_

7) Ticket Ride Label

When Luvbi and Yoshi were getting their second ticket ride during Race of the Rides, it had **M.G.R. **pasted on it. Yoshi declared that this stood for, "Merry-Go-Round", but this was incorrect.

The official name of the ride at Pinna Park is actually called the Yoshi-Go-Round, so why aren't the initials on the ticket instead **Y.G.R? **The changed M can be seen if you replace the word "Yoshi" with "Mole". Hence, the initials on the ticket are **M.G.R, **due to the fact that it instead stands for "Mole-Go-Round".

8) The "Sacrifice" Slip

During Relative Ride, when Goombella guessed wrong for Bobbery's loved one, Yoshi says out loud, "Now I have to sacrifice."

At first, this makes no sense. But later on in the game, it was revealed that the players with exemptions, Yoshi and Luvbi, could sacrifice their exemption cards in order to reunite loved ones together. Yoshi's sentence was a giveaway that he knew exactly what was going to occur later on in the mission.

9) The Green Carousel

On the Mole Saboteur Website, under the "Missions" tab, there is a picture of Pinna Park under Episode 4. If you look closely at the Yoshi-Go-Round in the photo, you will see that additional sprays of green were added upon it within the image. This color indication pointed as a hint towards Yoshi as the Mole.

_**Episode**_** 5:**

10) The Bullet-Order Names

The intro of Episode 5 had a revealing clue that not only revealed the identity of the Mole, but the rest of the players' fates as well. This line in the intro was given: "_Six players continue this game like the bullets in a revolver, slowly firing one by one. __But of course, one bullet is a dud, the one unable to leave this game by any means._" The players were introduced at the beginning of Episode 5 in the following order below:

**Luvbi**

**Wario**

**Vivian**

**Yoshi**

**Bobbery**

**Goombella**

Look at the list. If indeed the players were being "fired one by one", then the first player to be executed would be Bobbery, followed by Goombella, then Luvbi, Wario, and then the winner Vivian, and in the end, only the Mole would remain, Yoshi. The order follows the list, and could have been seen by readers as the episodes were uploaded one by one. The players' order of execution was given away in the intro of Episode 5.

11) Joe Safari

The Pianta guide who guided Bobbery during their game of The Fungi Prediction was named Joe Safari. Not being his real name, the name "Safari" was more than just a randomly chosen surname. A game was released on the Super NES back in 1993 with Yoshi's name in it, called_ "Yoshi's Safari"_.

12) Picture Objectives Hidden Message

The picture objective messages that the players received in Snap to See held a hidden message. In the 1st picture objective, you had to look at the 1st word in the message. In the 2nd picture objective, you had to look at the 2nd word in the message. Following the pattern, you would get:

_**You** make your way to an empty..._

_Go **onwards** and enter and find..._

_Yellow fungi **sit** on the east side..._

_It steams so **hot**, but what burns..._

_A lone Pianta is** insignificant**, but..._

_____Snap the camera hunter, and **make..**_

The first five words found spelled out the letters for the Mole's name, **Y.O.S.H.I. **In the 6th message, the letter **M **could be found, standing for Mole.

**_Episode 6 Clues:_**

13) The Sun Sign Constellation

The constellation on the map that the players had to find for the bottle game was told by the boatman to be "the first sun sign" of Isle Delfino's night sky. In Zodiac terminology, the first sun sign is Aries.

Yoshi's birthday is April 13, making his Zodiac sign none other than Aries.

14) Quiz Advantage Quote

After the players' mock quiz in Episode 5, the players realize how difficult and impossible the quiz actually was. When McHallyboo questions them, Yoshi says in response to this, "Even I failed the quiz".

This out-of-place line was an indicator that Yoshi, as the Mole, usually did well on the quizzes. In this case however, he was as clueless on the mock quiz as the other players were.

15) The Lifebuoy Message

The message on the buoy seen floating in the water at the end of Episode 6 had a strange message on it, which began with:

_"We're all like the fingers of a sodeoka samurai's hand...a__t any second, one can be lost and into the sun's wind we disappear."_

There is no such thing as a sodeoka samurai. If one were to online search the word however, they would find websites dedicated to a Japanese digital artist named Yoshi Sodeoka, hinting at the Mole's first name.

_**Episode 7 Clues:**_

16) The Hidden Kart

At the beginning of the Delfino Duels game, the players were assigned to split up into teams based on either a boxing glove or a cucumber. The players were confused in their meanings, and even more confusing was the fact that the players who had chosen the cucumber had games based on fruits, not vegetables. So what was the meaning of the cucumber?

The location the players were at, Delfino Plaza, was actually a separate race track created for the game _Mario Kart DS_. Yoshi as a character is a player in the game, and his second default kart that is unique to his character in the game is called the "Cucumber".

17) Edited DVD Audio

The players had spent a night watching Season 1's events of the Mole on a DVD in Noki Bay. In the footage, the players in Noki Bay heard McHallyboo's speech in the penultimate execution of Season 1. However, if you were to actually go back to that very moment in The Mole: Traitor Aboard when McHallyboo is speaking, you would have noticed differences between the two stories. That's because extra words were imputed and added into the DVD audio to make a clue. The words below in bold parenthesis are the words not found in the original audio, but was seen on the DVD in The Mole: Saboteur's Island.

_"Early on in the game, you had all been nervous about being executed on the first few (**yearning)** rounds, but with (**open)** truth do I say that you've all lasted longer than the** (six)** others. So please commend yourselves, and if you are eliminated tonight (**here)**, may you feel no shame in leaving, but rather (**indecisive)** pride for making it this far in the game."_

The false words **(Yearning, Open, Six, Here, Indecisive)** spell out the Mole's name in initials: Yoshi.

_**Episode 9:**_

18) Interview Similarity

The intro of the final episode ends with this line:

** And that third player? There's a heavy aura around him or her. Something that has been there since the very first episode.**

**That player is the Mole.**

Listen to Yoshi's interview during that episode, when the players are asked one by one if they are the Mole.

_"Yeah, I can be the Mole. But I'd be a cold-hearted person with a heavy aura around me, being there since the very first episode..."_

His similar choice of words in connection to the intro were a clue to him being the Mole.

19) Chemical Compounds

One of the questions that was asked by McHallyboo in the game Casino Potluck had a question with the following choice answers: A: **Dysprosium**, B:** Uranium**, C: **Nitrogen**, D: **Oxygen**. If you were to get the chemical letter symbols for these four elements, you would end up with:

Dysprosium: **D**

Uranium:** I**

Nitrogen:** N**

Oxygen: **O**

The chemical symbols spell out Yoshi's last name, Dino.

20) Fated Combinations

A huge clue that would have revealed the fates of the last three players were in the combinations that unlocked the players' doors.

Vivian unlocked her door with the code _346679. _If you reversed the order of these numbers, _976643_ would be achieved. Using a telephone key pad, the word WINNER could be spelled using these numbers.

Wario's door combination was _35677. _A scramble combination of those same numbers, _56737, _is the word _LOSER_ when deciphered the same way.

If Vivian is the winner, and Wario is the loser, then that only leaves one more role for Yoshi to end up as in the finale: the Mole.

**-Picture Clues-**

**(suggestion: open the picture clues in another window to follow the answers along!)**

_**The Mole: Saboteur Island Logo:**_ The logo, though meant for just show, actually spells out the Mole's initials on the right side in a hidden, discreet manner. This is now accessible to see if you change the name of the title into _"palmtreeyd"_. In fact, if you were to go to the last page of the Mole's journal in the final picture clue, you would see this section of the logo cropped off on the right, secretly indicating an importance in the right side of the logo's picture.

**_Island Bash Flier:_** The name of the picture is "lineconnection". If you look towards the bottom of the image, a small line is seen, connecting the phrase "no money" with the image of the boat dock. If one made a connection between these two elements, they would have related this to Yoshi's story in the game. Yoshi was the player who waited at the boat dock during the Island Bash advertising, and because of the lack of boats arriving, Yoshi indeed made no money during the mission.

_**Wiggler Mission Inspiration**:_ Each of the Wiggler's circle segments has a letter standing for each player in the game. In the picture, in place of the sixth Wiggler segment is Mario's FLUDD, and in FLUDD's tank is the letter "M", standing for Mole. So at first glace, it would look like Wario's circle stands for Mole.

However, the clue was in the picture's title, "ccoordinate". The extra C was a clue, and if you looked at Mario's hand, an extra letter C is spotted that isn't in the original image. This signifies that the hand is important, but in what way? Through the hand's characteristic of 5 fingers. Counting 5 spots away from the FLUDD-taken space would bring you right to Yoshi's circle.

_**Execution Roulette**_**_ (Screen)_:** There were two clues to this image that pointed to the Mole. The first clue followed the picture's title, "fcancellag". This could be seen as the word "cancel" placed within the word "flag". The system of communication using flags, called semaphore, was the key. If you were to look up the key semaphore code for the word "cancel" and placed the flag arrangement pose over the Execution Wheel, the flags would notably hit the sections with Diddy and Yoshi's names on them. In other words, connecting the executed with the executor.

The second clue to this image was more straight-forward. Starting with Diddy's name, if you traveled to the next executed player in the game, Bobbery, you would have to travel four spaces clock-wise. If you decided to follow this pattern around the circle and eliminate every person that was landed on, Yoshi's name would be hit last. In other words, he would outlast the others.

_**5 Become 1 Scrapwork**_** Paper:** The scrapwork layout of the mission had X's hidden on the page in each game square. These X's marked the locations of where the cryptic poem lines within the 5 Become 1 mission were hidden. If put together, the poem said the following:

_You think that being alone will make you rea**dy**?_

___Well, to do so is a win to den**y**_

___Hopefully these games did nothing but enlight**en**_

___Because it's five become one, not 5, 4, 3, 2, 1...**0**._

The picture's title, "xmarkstheend", hinted that the end of each of the lines were important. In fact, they spelled out a clue if looked at carefully. Look at the bolded ends of the poem: each last syllable or character was crucial in that when sounded and pronounced out loud, they would spell out the four letters of the Mole's last name: **D, I, N, **and** O.**

_**Map of Delfino**_** Square:** The answer to this clue was multi-stepped but rewarding in result. If you were to compare the image provided to an actual image of Delfino Square's map, you would see that the dock is different in that it is shaped in the letter, "W".

Look at the picture's title: "gameletter". If you were to replace the word "letter" with "w" in the title and change it to the new title, "letterw", a new image would appear with a different dock, shaped in another letter. Following this pattern, you would receive five different pictures, as well as 5 different letters, spelling the phrase "whois". Going to this final image would give you a large clue blatantly pointing out the identity of the Mole.

_**Under**** Construction:**_ In this image, a screenshot of the game's final mission was displayed in a document. Following the image's name, "title", you would see that the title of the document in the image was "wordandtime". This was a clue to get the number of words in the document, "712", and the time displayed in the image, "9:29". If added together by individualizing the numbers in their assigned digit places, you would get three numbers (seen below):

**9** 2 _9 _

**7** 1 _2_ =

equals** 16** 3 _11_

The numbers 16, 3, and 11 could have also been achieved in another way. They was also seen somewhere else on the page: in the tabs bar at the bottom in the screenshot, an AIM Instant Message could be spotted with someone named "_sicktin3ilehvan". _This was a fake user created by me, and instead, if studied closer, gave you the three crucial numbers that were needed: _16, 3, and 11._

Looking at the document in the image, if you looked at the _3rd, 11th, _and _16th_ words within the document, you would be able to create the sentence, "Yoshi can't win". If Yoshi cannot win, then it is guaranteed that he is the Mole.

**_A Final_ _Message_ (The Mole's Journal)**: Many clues hidden within the pages of the Mole's diary gave away the Mole. Dialogue within the entries also gave clues that eliminated the other two as the writers of the journal entries. Below are the most major/hidden ones.

Page 1: The Mole's hints about themself saying: _**Person? Yes.** Saboteur? _Duh_. Brave?_ A little_. Opponent? _Friend_. _These words follow the same letter acronyms in Yoshi's intro bio of every episode.

_**PLAYER: Yoshi. **__Surname: _Dino. _Birthday: _April 13. _Occupation: _Fruiterer/Waiter. The matching letters fall right into place.

Page 2 (accessed with the title "imrightbehindyou"): The Mole insults Diddy, stating that he "falls short of being a leader". However, in the next page, the Mole states that their partner in Bag Sinkers was "smart". In Wario's case, his partner in Bag Sinkers was Diddy. If the Mole was Wario, then it would not make sense for him to refer to Diddy in two completely distinct ways.

Page 3: The Mole states that they think someone was watching them in the Wiggler Cowardice challenge. Going back to when Yoshi jumped, someone is indeed described as watching and looking at Yoshi while he jumped in the game (later revealed to be Wario).

Page 5: The image of the coin has the caption, "Money is the root of all evil". This was an indicator that Wario, an obsesser of coins, would not openly say that line with honesty.

The last page held a clue with the line, "You want to know who I am? Just picture who I am." If you looked through the pictures throughout all of the Mole's journal entries in order, you could see that each image secretly has the image of a letter each, e.g. the first image of a parachute forms the letter Y. In the end, the pictures spell out the Mole's name.

**-Dinosaur Clues-**

Like last season with the various mushroom clues pointing to Toadette, the reoccurring theme this time around was dinosaurs, pointing to none other than Yoshi. Unlike last season however, these were more spottable and easier in difficulty to find. How many of these did you notice?

**Episode 1:** At the end of the third chapter in the author's note, krisetchers writes, "**And watch for hidden clues! Like last season, there will be _65 million of them_". ** The odd choice for the number wasn't random, but in fact chosen carefully. 65 million years ago is the widely-proposed time by paleontologists of when dinosaurs, due to an asteroid collision, went extinct.

**Episode 2:** In Blooper's letter, he says the line,"_And_ _as soon as you think you have victory, the losing side suddenly snatches you up like a velociraptor, having been preying on you from the very start of the game." _Velociraptor is a species of dinosaur.

**Episode 3:** During the Cocomero Coretto game, a clue about the Mole is found in a sand dune, in none other than the one shaped in a dinosaur's footprint. In fact, the clue says, "_The Mole's act is closer than you think". _Indeed, the Mole's act, of stepping into sand, was very close to the players: they were standing right in it.

**Episode 4:** During the writing of Episode 4, the movie _Jurassic Park_ was added to the list of favorite movies in McHallyboo's biography page, a movie with a dinosaur-based plotline.

**Episode 5: **The Mole gives us the hidden names of two dinosaurs in a single confessional, after the players finish the Snap to See game. He states: "_My **ankle's as sore as** ever. The thing that makes the pain worth it? We kept Wario from his exemption. We didn't need to get a **car and tour us**." _The two hidden dinosaur names, **ankylosaurus** and **carnotaurus,** can be seen respectively.

**Episode 6:** Before Execution 6, the host gathers everyone and asks them the locations of their previous executions. Yoshi answers the second location with the reply, ""The water house, hawkins." This answer was odd, but it served to point towards the name Waterhouse Hawkins. Hawkins was famously known for creating life-size models, his work known for being in the Crystal Palace Park in London. What was he famously known for making models of? Dinosaurs.

**Episode 7:** There were two parts in the episode that made up a dinosaur's name. When Luvbi is in the stealing portion of the Delfino Duels game, she spots a fruit stand that says _"Ptero Fruits: 5 Coins"_. Later when the players are leaving to play in the DVD portion of the last mission, Wario sees the sign, _"Dactyl Boating: 5 Coins"_ outside the hut. The connection with the price_ "5 coins"_ would have linked these two signs together, into the word, _"Pterodactyl"_, a flying reptile dinosaur.

**Episode 8:** During the Casino Potluck mission, Yoshi easily wins a question, the answer to the question being Tyrannosaurus Rex, the most known dinosaur of all.

**-"Final Destination" Clues-**

These clues were given at the end of every chapter before an execution. With my past fanfic stories having the "Final Destination" movie series as inspiration, one would know that in the movie series, clues hinted to who was going to die next. In this case then, the clues would point to who would be the next player to be executed. Below are the meanings of each Final Destination clue.

**MP1BULB- **MP1 stood for the Nintendo game Mario Party 1, which had a minigame called "Running of the Bulb", consisting of players running away from various Boos. Boo was the first executed.

Flower-A-Slant-A**-** Using synonyms, the word "Flower" could be replaced by "Rose" and "Slant" for "Lean". The end result would be, "Rose-a-Lean-a", giving pronunciation of Rosalina's name.

_CRANIUM**-**_ In that very episode, in the 1-2-3 BLT mission, Wendy's assignment was to retrieve a head of lettuce. Cranium, of course, is a bone structure in the head.

**CIROT SI HERP- **Backwards, the word "Prehistoric" would be made out. This would follow Darwin's theory of evolution consisting of prehistoric primates, pointing to Diddy.

| NO STARS |** - **This was a reference to Super Mario 64, in where the door to the first level, Bob-omb's Battlefield, required no stars to enter. This was the clue that pointed to Bobbery.

**H 0, ****T 0, ****M B 3, ****R W 4-** These were initials for the attack moves of Goombella in Paper Mario and the Thousand Year Old Door, as well as the number of "Flower Points" required for each attack. Headbonk required 0 FP, Tattle was 0 FP, Multi-Bonk required 3 FP, and Rally Wink required Goombella for 4 FP.

******YT**iOczCbgKPkw- The bold letters stood for the website Youtube. Putting the rest of the meaningless letters into the URL would have brought you to a video showing The Overthere in Super Paper Mario, pointing to Luvbi (_Side note_: because of so many comments from both me and other fanfic users on the video for this clue, the user amusingly disabled comments xD)

**Outside Clues**

These other hidden clues, located on other sites, would have pointed to the Mole's identity. Though these were more hidden, this list was collaborated all in honor of the Mole.

**Facebook Pictures**: There were various pictures on my profile that gave away the identity of the Mole. First, for a month on my Facebook, my profile picture was a photo of me holding a Yoshi plush doll. If you were to click on the photo, the stuffed Yoshi was seen tagged as the word "Spy". Second, about exactly a year ago, I posted a photo of me with a Yoshi imprinted on my shirt. The tag in the photo of the Yoshi in the photo was, "tmosi", standing for "The Mole of Saboteur's Island". Lastly, in one of my albums, a clear shot of Yoshi himself was uploaded as a photo. The caption is, "Yoshi! My faithful servant."

**Phone Number:** Also hidden on my Facebook profile was a telephone number found under my contacts: 096-744-3466. Since a phone number cannot begin with the letter zero or else it is invalid, this showed that the phone number was a fake. If deciphered with none other than a telephone key pad, you would be able to spell out the name 0YO-SHI-DINO.

**Youtube Tags**: Videos on Youtube held the execution videos for Episodes 1 and 3 of The Mole: Saboteur's Island. These videos were also the top result if "The Mole: Saboteur's Island" was searched into Google. Both videos had tags that secretly spelled out the Mole's name. For example, in the first Execution video, the video tags held the words, "yell open hop site invisible" These spelled out the Mole's name in initials.

The final clue of this story was in the intro of every episode (excluding the first one, which didn't have one). Last season, the first words in every intro gave away the identity of the Mole. This time, in honor of the second season, the _second_ words gave away the Mole's identity. So going back, what was the second word of every intro?

_Just **two** days ago the..._

___There **is** a second episode already..._

_____In **the** events of just last..._

_______The **Mole's** game narrows down..._

_________And** next**, we find ourselves deeper..._

___________Intelligent, **spot** on, and clever._

The sentence formed was, "Two is the Mole's next spot." So who was in the second spot in the next intro? The final episode intro began with the following:

_ **"**Wario. **Yoshi.** Vivian. Three players..." _

Yoshi Dino, landing in the second spot, is the Mole.

* * *

The players were flabbergasted; some of them were highly impressed, while others displayed faces of pure discombobulation.

"Those clues were just awesome!" Goombella spoke out loud. "Seriously. I couldn't even get half of those! I'm so impressed."

"My head...spinning...too many clues," Wario groaned slightly. "How did all of these slip past my nose?"

"Well, you know Wario...they were called_ hidden_ clues," Boo pointed out, while the others laughed.

"That dinosaur clue," Rosalina said with satisfaction, and she playfully pushed Yoshi. The dinosaur giggled.

"Perhaps," began Luvbi, "we had gathered these clues subconsciously in our brains throughout the game. If this applied to Wario and Vivian, it would reason why they made it so far." Everyone pondered the interesting possibilities with flowing thoughts. McHallyboo faced Vivian.

"But of course, we know, none of these clues helped Vivian figure out the Mole and land her the spot as the winner of The Mole: Saboteur's Island," said McHallyboo. "Even if she did discover clues, it was all character and story analyzation that made her figure out and secure who the Mole was." When he said this, McHallyboo was strangely looking at the camera as well.

"Err, I must ask, why are you looking at the camera?" Bobbery inquired. McHallyboo only chuckled loudly.

"I really never thought I'd win," Vivian said, smiling at the ground. "I know I've said that so many times...in like the past hour! But it's just so amazing. It'll probably take a few weeks for me to finally get it into my head." Everyone around her smiled as well.

"I had a feeling you'd win, actually," the host admitted. Vivian laughed with disbelief.

"Really?" she asked. McHallyboo winked.

"I can sense hidden potential on many occasions," he replied truthfully.

"You totally deserve the winning spot, Vivian," Yoshi said. "Totally!"

"Yoshi, you deserve an award for being the most stealthy Mole," Diddy said, shaking his head. "I never really pinpointed you at all."

"Yeah! I mean, the mystery and surprise couldn't have been more great," Wendy said with agreement, then took a deep breath. "I feel this game changed me so much."

"Yoshi, how do you think you would have done as a regular contestant?" McHallyboo asked him, as everyone turned to the Mole with curious thought.

"Oh, umm," Yoshi said, scratching his head and laughing. "I think I know. I'd be so obsessed trying to figure out who the Mole is that I'd probably be taking notes every other second throughout the game in my journal. If I was a genuine player, I'd be so paranoid and stick out the players as a hopeless paranoid, writing down everything I could and can. So I wouldn't last long...at least not socially." The others seemed amused, picturing the scene with the saboteur.

"Boo, we know you had such a short run in the game," McHallyboo said, pointing towards the first executed player. "But what would you have done differently if you were to go back?"

"Oh," Boo replied, shrugging. "Maybe vote for Yoshi I think." The players all laughed at his line.

"But hah, in honesty, maybe personally talk to the players more, like interrogate them," said the player. "That way, I could have seen into their true character. I think my short-term coalition partner Wario did that. So kudos to him."

"Who else do you guys think could have made a great Mole?" McHallyboo asked them. The players immediately began pointing fingers at each other.

"Goombella," Rosalina said, smiling. "I think you could have done it." Goombella laughed, shaking her head.

"I'd spill the beans on Day 1," Goombella countered. "No way."

"I think Bobbery could have made a good Mole," said Luvbi, as everyone turned to the Bob-omb. "Your character of respect and wisdom would have disabled me from ever selecting you." Bobbery laughed jovially.

"Well, perhaps I would have been too much of a suspect," he replied.

"Darn, I'd make a terrible Mole," Diddy realized, as everyone laughed. "I think I was suspicious enough already."

"Yah, you'd be pretty terrible," Boo said, as the crowd laughed with Diddy's look.

"Yoshi, what would you give to another Mole for advice?" McHallyboo questioned curiously. The Mole of Season 2 thought for a second.

"I think I'd have to pass the same chain of wise words that I received from Toadette, the Mole before me," Yoshi decided. "I mean, you can completely keep a part of your genuine personality when you're the Mole. Of course, you have to change a lot of your outside character being a secret agent, but you never really have to change your true personality aspects." The players nodded with agreement at Yoshi's words.

"On my own, I would say...never get discouraged if someone's on your heels," Yoshi said. "Even if they're like dead-on onto you, you can still steer them away if you give it your best. Don't give up if someone is suspecting you! That's what a Mole has to always remember: to never give up." McHallyboo nodded this time.

"And as host, it was the greatest pleasure to host this amazing game," McHallyboo said, smiling grandly at the people before him. "You were indeed great players. I could not have asked for a greater cast to work with." The players clapped, cheering as well for the host's final words.

"Aww, is it really ending?" Diddy moaned. The host nodded with a smile.

"Sadly, I'm afraid so," McHallyboo replied.

"The finale is ending, and perhaps this show as well," Luvbi spoke, "but never the memories."

"And the fun," added Vivian, smiling.

"I agree," said Goombella. "I'm never forgetting any of this ever."

"It'd be hard to," Wario admitted, a laugh in his sentence. "Impossible."

The players clapped, and the finale was over. As the television and cameras finally turned off, they greeted each other individually warmly, hugging, laughing, but most of all, happy in each others' presence. A special bond was created that season that could never have been achieved or relived anywhere else. And at the very end of the day, happy and content, they all went to their homes. The grand vacation of deceit was finally over.

Vivian Shadens, the winner, went back home to her family and town to surprise them all as the prosperous winner of the game. With new-found courage and confidence, she was able to spend a large portion of her winnings towards opening her own art school. Now working as an inspiring teacher, she inspires students to reach that level of determination and confidence that she had obtained while playing the game.

Wario Garlimo, the runner-up, went back home, changed in priorities from his long run in the game. His lifestyle as an explorer changed as well: his explorations after the show rotated less on wealth and more solely for just recreational and entertainment purposes. Still remembering the events which occurred during the game, he continuously reflects back to the greatest adventure he ever had.

Yoshi Dino, the Mole, went home with the relaxing satisfaction of a job well done. He went back to not only his own home but back into the loving company of his wife Birdo. Still his jumpy and bubbly self, he tells people in his village the countless stories he collected from his adventures as the Mole, and even gained a bit of fame from his role as the sly saboteur. Never the less, Yoshi was finally able to let his guard down with the people and friends that he loved.

And for the others? They had the greatest of times playing the game, and thankfully, have no more stressful situations to face like the ones in the game they were forced to endure. They couldn't have agreed more with a better winner, Mole, and runner-up.

Most of all, they couldn't have wished for a better and more enthusiastic host to guide them through their game. Neither could McHallyboo.

* * *

**And that is the end! After 3 and a half years, it is finally over! I'm in shock! :D**

**I must admit, there are probably 2 or 3 clues out there still hidden int he story which I completely skipped over. So maybe you guys will stumble upon them and find them for me ;)**

**THANK YOU everyone for this amazing second season of the Mole so possible! I am truly thankful! **

**Honestly, this season was never going to exist originally. I was planning to stop after the first season and never had a second one planned in my head. So all of this is pretty amazing and I'm happy it all happened. **

**And my thanks! I could not have done any of this without you readers and fans. You meant so much! But most of all, the reviewers! I love you all so much because you were the inspiration for this story :) I thank you very very much!**

**Possibly, there will be a final concluding chapter after this one. But tecnically, this is the end. SNIFF. SNIFF. Thank you everybody! :) May the Mole forever follow you.**


	45. Results

**Results of The Mole: Saboteur's Island**

Episode 1

**Air Combination:** 6,000c/20,000c  
**Bag Savers:** 24,000c/30,000c

**Pot Total**: 30,000 coins/50,000 coins

**Executed:** Boo Vaporse

Episode 2

**Island Bash**: 10,000c/20,000c  
**Island Lockdown**: 10,000c/15,000c

**Pot Total:** 50,000 coins/85,000 coins

**Executed**: Rosalina Galaxye

Episode 3

**One, Two, Three, BLT**: 8,000c/15,000c  
**Cocomero Coretto**: 11,000c/15,000c  
**Wiggler Cowardice Test:** 8,000c/20,000c

**Pot Total:** 77,000 coins/135,000 coins

**Executed: **Wendy Koopa

Episode 4

**Race of the Rides:** 0c/20,000c  
**Relative Ride:** 10,000c/25,000c  
**Execution Roulette**: 12,000c/21,000c

**Pot Total:** 99,000 coins/180,000 coins

**Executed:** Diddy Kong

Episode 5

**Snap to See:** 15,000c/25,000c  
**Page 6:** 20,000c/20,000cs  
**The Fungi Prediction**: 15,000/25,000c

**Pot Total:** 149,000 coins/250,000 coins

**Executed:** Bobbery Keelers

Episode 6

**5 Become 1**: 0/40,000c  
**The Sky Bottle**: 10,000c/10,000c  
**Cash It or Sink It**: 15,000c/20,000c

**Pot Total:** 174,000 coins/320,000 coins

**Executed:** Goombella Frankster

Episode 7

**Food Frenzies:** 5,000c/20,000c  
**Delfino Duels:** 10,000c/20,000c  
**The Sacred Pot:** 40,000c/40,000c

**Pot Total:** 230,000c/400,000c

**Executed: **Luvbi Nimbis

Episode 8

**Three Questions Game:** 10,000c/30,000c  
**Casino Potluck:** -2,000/20,000c  
**The Vacation Escape:** 50,000c/50,000c

**Pot Total**: 288,000c/500,000c

**Executed: **Wario Garlimo

**Winner: **Vivian Shadens

**The Mole: **Yoshi Dino

**Trivia**

From the very beginning of the story to the end of the finale, the duration of this story lasted exactly 3 years, 7 months, and 9 days.

The island that the players arrive at to take the final quiz of the game is actually the same island in which the players arrived at in the beginning of the game.

The final mission of the season was originally going to take place in Corona Mountain and would have the final players dangerously traversing along the course in order to retrieve keys to escape the arena. However, this was scrapped as Sirena Beach was chosen as the last location

The 5 Become 1 Mission went through the most brainstorming out of all missions: I had been collecting info about it and formulating it in my head for more than a year in advance. In fact, the scrapwork paper in the picture clues was a genuine piece of scrapwork, minus last additions.

The title of this season, The Mole: Saboteur's Island, was actually spotted in the previous season in Traitor Aboard. Before the finale was revealed, it could be seen at the bottom of the "Poll" chapter, a foreshadowing of its upcoming.

The name of Island Tarasp, the island in the Island Bash mission, was based on Castle Tarasp, a location in the real Mole US 2 season.

The Mole of this season went through different character selections. At first, it was going to be Klepto, the bird from Super Mario 64. Another option was for Diddy to be the Mole, until I decided with Yoshi, Mario's best pal.

The final 3 players of the game also went through various changes: originally, Luvbi, Rosalina, and Yoshi were chosen as the last three of the season. Rosalina was placed by Vivian in the second permutation, and after the first episode, I replaced Luvbi's spot in the final with Wario, who was originally only going to make it less than halfway into the game.

The way Toadette was introduced Episode 7 was a similar play description to how she had gotten off the helicopter in Season 1, as well as stepped off the train in the end of the first season.

The date on Yoshi's milk carton in the final Hotel mission, **10-18-08**, was a reference to the date that this story was first published.

The book that was crucial in the game that Wario discovered in the final mission, Greatest Expectations**, **was a homage to the first season in where it was both a book owned by Toadette and a clue.

The folder in Yoshi's room, _How To Build A Hydro Pipe To A Designated Place, _is actually a subtle reference to my first story ever, The Next Death Will Come. A book with this title was spotted in the story, and ironically for Yoshi, the book was used in order to exterminate his character

Think you've seen Yoshi before? Yoshi was actually seen in the first season of The Mole: Traitor Aboard. During the players' final mission, Luigi, Toadette, and Blooper enter a task where they have to compete in cutting wood. A Yoshi is their opponent, and at one point, he even holds up the figurine of a Monty Mole and states, "I am the Mole". Perhaps Yoshi's other talent besides being a waiter was being a woodcutter as well.

* * *

**Wow, that's a lot more trivia than I though! Hopefully these last hidden things surprised you about this season ;)**


	46. Sabotuer's Island: Alternate Finale!

**_What do we have here? Ah, yes! And now we give you the unscripted finale of The Mole: Saboteur's Island._**

* * *

**McHallyboo: **Welcome everyone to the finale of The Mole: Saboteur's Island! It's been four months since we left the final three players stranded for their lives, err I mean, assigned them to take the final quiz on that island. Today, we will finally find out who the winner is! We will also finally discover the answer to the exciting, spectacular, unknown question: Who is the Mole?

**Goombella: **But I already know who the Mole is. It's Yoshi.

**McHallyboo: **WAIT HOW DO YOU- I mean, ahem. Why don't we introduce the previous executed players of the game, shall we?

**Players:** Yay!

**McHallyboo: **First on our list is Boo! The player who we intentionally executed first after being introduced as the expert of the game, in order to give the story a sudden twist of irony. Welcome back!

**Boo:** Are you kidding me? Is that why I was first executed? For irony?

**McHallyboo**: Of course not! *obvious chuckle*. Next is our second executed player, Rosalina! Since we couldn't get any of the other main princesses to play since they had already starred in the first season, we were stuck with selecting you, Rosalina. Personally I never played Mario Galaxy, so you weren't really an important character anyway. Sorry.

**Rosalina:** Oh, pooh...

**McHallyboo: **Now for our third executed player: Wendy Koopa! Honestly, you too. I don't know how you got chosen as a player on the show, but I think it had something to do with outside personal blackmail threats from your father, Bowser.

**Wendy: **Yeah, he's good at that kind of stuff.

**McHallyboo: **Yikes. Next we have Diddy, the fourth exec-

**Diddy:** YOSHI'S THE MOLE!

******McHallyboo:** Whoa, calm down Diddy! Because you're so rude I'm not even going to give you a formal introduction. Instead we have, Bobbery! Our fifth executed.

**Bobbery:** By golly, hello! Thankful to be back.

**McHallyboo: **I'm actually surprised you're even showing yourself on live TV. The Mushroom Kingdom Environmental Pollution Agency is probably after you after that little Chuckola-Cola moment of yours in Episode 5.

**Bobbery:** Well, I had been fined heavily and lost my job from that incident.

**McHallyboo:** Ahh, it's a hard knock life. Next, Goombella. Who also claims to_ know_ so well who the Mole is. *rolls eyes*

**Goombella:** Yeah! I caught that clue in Episode 3 about the B.L.T. challenge, pinpointed it to Yoshi, and then...

**McHallyboo: **Yeah yeah, enough speculating nonsense. Next, we have Luvbi. You went from being one of the most suspicious players to one of the least suspicious players in the game, according to the polls. Dunno how that happened.

**Luvbi:** Neither do I, unfortunately.

**McHallyboo: **We should have tried harder. Now, we will ask you guys one by one: who do you think the Mole is? We don't care about the winner, just throw in your votes about who you think the Mole is of the game. Starting with Boo.

**Boo:** Okay. Yoshi.

**McHallyboo: **Hmm...fair enough, Mr. Situational Irony. Rosalina?

**Rosalina:** I believe it is Yoshi as well.

**McHallyboo: **Errkay. Umm...Wendy, who is your pick on who the Mole is?

**Wendy: **I think it's Yoshi also!

******McHallyboo:** *looks at camera* You know. I'm just going to skip to the main part of the finale now, since all your votes are just so silly.

**Diddy:** YOSHI!

**McHallyboo**: Now, I introduce to you all: The Mole!_ (points to entering player)_

**Players**: _GASP!_

**Toadette_: _**Hi guys, it's Toadette, the Mole! Well, at least from the first season that is. I just wanted to wish everyone good luck, and may the Mole be ever in your favor.

**Goombella:** A Hunger Games reference!

**Players:** Yay! (_claps)_

**Luvbi:** Wow, that was a longer appearance than you had in Episode 7 of this season.

**Toadette:** Yeah, I didn't really dig the tropical setting of this second season, so I just wanted to leave the game ASAP. Too pretentious...and sunny!

**McHallyboo:** Well, thank you very much Toadette. It was nice seeing you again.

**Toadette:** Okay... _(winks at McHallyboo)_ Call me. _  
_

**Players**: ...? _  
_

**Wendy:** Are you guys...dating?

**McHallyboo:** IGNORE THAT. Okay, time to reaaallly find out who the Mole is. Are you guys ready?

**Players: **Yeah, whoo!

**Diddy: **YOSHI!

**McHallyboo**: SHUSH! To the doors!

_(everyone turns to the three doors, excited)_

******McHallyboo:** Okay, so behind these three doors are the final three players of the game! I will insert a key into each of these slots...LET GO WARIO GEEZ NOT YET...and when I say so, grab it and try to open your door.

**Vivian: **OKAY! Well, I hope I win! I really really really really hope I win this game! Oh my gosh, I'm so excited, I'm going to have a panic attack and maybe pass out in my locked door from utter super duper excitement! OH MY GOSH! YESSS! (LOUD SQUEAL)

**McHallyboo:** _(mutters to self about not getting paid enough for the show)_ Aright guys, the keys are in. You can go ahead and try to open your doors.

_(sounds of unlocking, the players watch intensely. Dramatic reveal music is playing loudly)_

**Wendy: **It's, it's...

**Bobbery:** By golly!

**Vivian:** I...I won? OH MY GOSH YAY I'M LIKE SO HAPPY OH MY GOSH I NEVER BELIEVED IN MYSELF BEFORE IN THE GAME BUT NOW I SUDDENLY DO! I BELIEVE IN MYSELF! I BELIEVE! I BELIEVE I CAN FLYYYYY-AHHH!

_(Vivian jumps/falls out the window, shocking the players_)

**Goombella:** Vivian, no!

**Wendy:** Well... what do we do now?

**McHallyboo: **Sigh...either we have to pay our camera producers to carry her back in here, which will cost us an inordinate amount of money, or simply sign a death certificate in her name. Honestly, I'm hoping for the latter since it'll require us less work.

******Rosalina:** Oh, pooh...

**Boo:** Can we just find out who the Mole is, pleaaaaaaaase...?

**McHallyboo: **Sure thing Boo!

**Wendy**: Yah! Pleaaaaaaaase...?

**McHallyboo**: Shut it Wendy! You're getting on my nerves with your whining. No one else is as whiny as you.

**Wendy:** What! Boo just said the same thing as me.

**McHallyboo**: Well, he's Boo, and you're, well, Wendy. You're already notoriously naggy and annoying.

**Wendy:** DAD!

**McHallyboo: **Geez stop, all right you win!...gee. How stressful does this finale have to be? Okay well, I will now reveal who the Mole is.

**Players:** Yay!

**McHallyboo:** Drumroll, everyone!

_(everyone is excited, McHallyboo stares at them, blank)_

**McHallyboo: **No, seriously! Someone drumroll!

**Rosalina:** Oh. _(taps her hands in rhythmic pattern on her chair)_

_(Everyone watches. One of the doors clicks and opens up)_

**Wendy: **It's, it's...

**Bobbery:** By golly!

**Yoshi: **Umm...guys... _(comes out his door_) Hi everyone. You got me.

**Luvbi: **Oh my gosh!

**Diddy:** YOSHI!

**Goombella:** I knew it! You were the Mole!

**Yoshi:** _(confused)_ Huh? Oh, I'm not the Mole. What are you guys talking about? I lost the game.

**Goombella:** Oh...

**Bobbery: **Huhzatt...then it states it! It's Wario!

**Wario:** _(exits his door as well)_ Nah. Sorry guys, I'm not the Mole either.

**Boo:** What...

**Wendy:** Wait a second...then who's the Mole?

**McHallyboo:** It's me.

**Boo, Rosalina, Wendy, Diddy, Bobbery, Goombella, Luvbi:** WHHHAAAAAAAAAAAATTTTT?

**McHallyboo:** Yep, little did you know, I was the Mole of this game the whole time! Also known as _El Topo,_ in Spanish! Tell that to your friends for Mole trivia.

**Wario**: That's also Mole in Italian!

**Players:** ...

**Diddy:** YOSHI!

**Boo: **The HOST WAS THE MOLE? How is that even logically possible? It breaks all laws!

**McHallyboo:** Well Boo, you should have thought about that beforehand. Not everything has to follow logic; maybe that's why you were executed so early in the game Boo, hm?

**Bobbery:** This is an outrage. I am going to punch somebody.

**Goombella: **Ugh, so I never suspected the Mole at all? I didn't know that someone besides the players could have been the Mole.

**McHallyboo:** Goombella, you shoulda have at least known the following: "Anything can happen in the Mole".

**Goombella:** Well, I was aware of that motto, but I didn't think it meant anything.

**Diddy:** YOSHI!

**Luvbi:** Well. At least elaborate on how the quizzes were even functional in this game. How could any of us have possibly voted for you on the quizzes?

**McHallyboo:** Why, that part is rather simple, really. I'll take a sample question from the first quiz, for example clarity:

* * *

_**Question 2: When did the Mole skydive from the plane during Air Combination?**_

_**-First**_

_**-Second**_

_**-Third**_

_**-Fourth**_

_**-Fifth**_

_**-Sixth**_

_**-The Mole did not jump from the plane**_

* * *

**McHallyboo: **As you see, the correct answer would have been, "_**The Mole did not jump from the plane"**._ Because, factually, _I did not jump from the plane_

**Luvbi: ...**that is ridiculous...

**Boo: **You're ridiculous! How did you even go to the penultimate round not even knowing who the Mole was?

**Luvbi: **Umm, the real question here is, how the heck did Vivian even know to vote for McHallyboo?

**McHallyboo:** Good news guys! Vivian was found alive outside. She's back here to tell us how she did it...correction, she's not speaking comprehensibly right now. In fact, she's clearly unconscious. So let's just watch a video footage of her adventure in the game and see how she figured out who the Mole was. Aka, me._ (wink)._

* * *

_VIVIAN'S JOURNEY_

Vivian began the game clueless. Literally, clueless. She thought she was signing up for a job application when she signed up for the game. Forced into its chaos, she tried her best to function.

Vivian:I can't take this anymore! AHH!

The others thought she was weak. She was the least popular player of the group in the beginning, and the other females taunted her like high school bullies.

Rosalina: Ugh, why is she even here?

Wendy: She's _such_ a loser.

But like a star, she rose to fame.

_(flashback of Vivian riding on a star)_

She was able to pick out McHallyboo after studying him during certain missions. Every time the players lost money in a game, she noticed McHallyboo snickering maniacally in the background.

Vivian: _It can't be a coincidence! McHallyboo is the Mole!_

She even caught McHallyboo stealing money from the physical team pot.

_(flashback of the hotel in the middle of the night. Vivian wakes up and sees McHallyboo taking money from a large gigantic pot. McHallyboo says, "You didn't see anything..." before running off, baffling Vivian)_

And Vivian was the winner of The Mole: Saboteur's Island.

* * *

**Bobbery:** Hmm. That was, needless to say, interesting.

**McHallyboo:** I shouldn't have stolen from that pot in the middle of the night.

**Wendy:** The pot was an actual pot? Wow.

**Yoshi: **So I assume that I scored really terribly on that final quiz then, McHallyboo?

**McHallyboo:** Yes Yoshi, you did quite atrocious on the final quiz. In fact, you got a negative score on the quiz.

**Yoshi:** NEGATIVE? How did I get a negative score?

**McHallyboo:** You forgot to answer one of the questions. Maybe you were panicked or stressed. Long story short, I shook my head at your stupidity and decided to give you a -1 for doing that.

**Wario:** Ouch.

**McHallyboo:** Wario, you got a score of 3, so I wouldn't be talking either

**Yoshi:** (snickers)

**Rosalina:** Well, what score did Vivian get on the final quiz?

**McHallyboo:** She got a score of 21.

**Wendy: **Wait, weren't there only 20 question on the final quiz?

**McHallyboo:** Yeah...

**Players:** ...

**McHallyboo: **...

******Diddy:** YOSHI!

**Luvbi: **So what's next?

**McHallyboo:** ...hmm. Oh! Let's see, yes, so how did I sabotage the game? I did it in both very obvious and subtle ways that went largely unnoticed by the players! Hah, I don't mean to toot my own horn, but seriously, I didn't get suspected by the players at all. I was amazing. Let's take a look.

* * *

******Sabotage of the Mole**

Air Combination:

In the game's first mission, McHallyboo distorted his voice to sound like Yoshi's. Disguising as him, he said the combination in a complicated manner.

_Flashback **McHallyboo**_**_:_** "It's Yoshi! _(tries to imitate Yoshi sound)_ The combination is eight, six, and four, repeat! Eight, six, and four, last one being four, first is eight, middle six...confirmed! _(bursts into uncontrollable laughter)_

___Flashback **Wario**_**_: _**"Umm, are you okay Yoshi?

_____Flashback **Real** **Yoshi**_**_: _**"What? I didn't say anything."

Island Bash Party:

McHallyboo scared guests away at the party with his suggestive and provocative demeanor during the party, making them leave the island early.

_Flashback **McHallyboo**_**_:_** _(talking to a girl Bob-omb) _"Hey baby, is your fuse making me hotter or is it just me?"

_Flashback **Girl Bob-omb**_**_: _**"Erghpghgergphh I don't want to be here any more..."

Cocomero Coretto

McHallyboo sabotaged this mission, and he wasn't even present! He carved into the sand on Gelato Beach certain subliminal messages, such as, "emag eht egatobas (read this backwards)"and "Give up, you ape/ghost/nimbi/bob-omb/goomba". These subliminal messages successfully messed up the players.

_Flashback **Goomba**__:__ (sees message carved in sand)_ "Hmm...for some strange inexplicable unknown reason...I feel like sabotaging the game. Don't ask me why."

_Flashback **Diddy**__: _"Okay, I won't ask you."

Race of the Rides

McHallyboo actually helped Yoshi and Luvbi around the park during the mission. He followed them in stalking, stylish manner.

_Flashback **Luvbi**__: _Umm, why are you following us around McHallyboo?

_Flashback **McHallyboo**_**_:_ **You're going the wrong way! The ride is this way!

_Flashback **Luvbi**_**_: _**Oh, silly me! Well, now we're definitely going to win and cost the team money! _(chuckles)_ You know, it would be such an amusing thought if you were actually the Mole.

_Flashback **McHallyboo**_**_:_** _(looks at camera)_ Wouldn't that be something._  
_

Page 6

When the players had to guess the final journal entry of Vivian's, McHallyboo actually erased the page with his handy-dandy eraser.

_Flashback **McHallyboo**_**_:_** Good thing Vivian doesn't write in pen! Now people will suspect her instead of me! Muahahaa!

_Flashback **Goombella:** (in background, pointing)_ Umm, why is McHallyboo doing a separate confessional over there in the woods?**  
**

_Flashback **McHallyboo**_**_: _**...I gotta be quieter.

3 Questions Game

In the three questions game, McHallyboo actually bribed Yoshi with real money to answer some of his questions incorrectly.

_Flashback **McHallyboo**_**_: _**I have 500 coins right here. Guaranteed cash, Yoshi. Sabotage and you get it._  
_

_Flashback **Yoshi**_**_:_** Okay!

_Flashback **McHallyboo**_**_:_** ...that was easier than I thought. I was gonna offer higher.

_Hotel Lockdown  
_

In the final mission of the game, McHallyboo sabotaged...psyched! He didn't sabotage. The Mole always has this habit of never sabotaging in the final mission of the game.

* * *

**Boo:** Wowww...

**Bobbery:** I must say though, those sabotages were better than I had originally visioned. I'm impressed!

**Yoshi:** That bribe was so unnecessary...

**Diddy:** YOSHI!

**Goombella:** Wait, so why did the earpiece malfunction on that roller coaster? That wasn't you?

**McHallyboo:** That, Goombella, is called a technological error. Also known as a red herring for people who think EVERY FRICKEN' LITTLE THING IS A PIECE OF SABOTAGE! (_players are stunned, McHallyboo calms down)_

**McHallyboo: **Ahem, sorry for that outburst. But yes, it was a technological fault.

**Wario: **Cool.

**McHallyboo:** And now guys, thank you players for playing this wonderful game! The finale is now over!

**Wendy:** What!

**Rosalina:** Oh pooh...

**Boo:** This finale is NOT over without the revealing of the hidden clues.

**Diddy:** YOSHI!

**McHallyboo:** FOR MUSHROOM'S SAKE, WILL YOU STOP SAYING YOSHI'S NAME! HE'S NOT EVEN THE MOLE!

**Diddy**: ...Yoshi.

**McHallyboo:** I'm really...gonna... _(starts crumpling a piece of paper) __..._strangle...obliterate...

**Luvbi:** (sigh) Someone play the video before we have an anthropoid mammal for dinner.

* * *

**The Hidden Clues!**

_(aka the impossible hidden things that you're not supposed to find out until the end, making them kinda useless)_

**Episode 1**: McHallyboo began on the island in the very beginning, delivering the game's intro speech. He was indeed on the island, or rather, the island was his. _Saboteur's Island._

**Episode 2: **In Episode 2, McHallyboo was seen reading a magazine called, _The Pattern of Death Will Be Broken_. This was an edition of a personal favorite dieting magazine of Toadette's in the first season. In fact, the edition that McHallyboo was reading that moment, titled, _"How to Choose the Right Salad Dressing to Obtain Those Thin Booty-licious Hips" _was the same one that Toadette read before.

**Episode 3:** The initials **B.L.T** was said to stand for the sandwich, but those letters also could have stood for something else: a "**B**ooty-**L**icious"** T**omato. McHallyboo was eating a "booty-licious" tomato that episode, but unfortunately, offscreen, so nobody really saw it.

**Episode 4:** McHallyboo was the only person at the end of the episode to never get reunited with a loved one. The Mole, being cold-hearted, could never be near a loved one. And McHallyboo was the Mole.

**Episode 5:** McHallyboo didn't swim in the Jacuzzi, another sign of his cold-heartedness. Literally, the Jacuzzi was hot, and he dissociated himself from the other players.

**Episode 6:** The challenge 5 Become 1 was indeed a cold-hearted mission. McHallyboo designed that mission because he's, well, cold-hearted.

**Episode 7:** Okay, enough with the cold-hearted clues/jokes.

**Episode 8: **The final clue was in the hotel. What was the name of the hotel, seen in the final shot? _The McHallyboo Hotel_.

* * *

**Luvbi:** I thought the name of the hotel was _Hotel Delfino_.

**McHallyboo:** _(awkwardly)_ Umm...well Luvbi, just cause the entrance outside _says_ _"Hotel Delfino" _doesn't meant that that's its actual name. Duh. _(under his breath)_ Phew, close save.

**Luvbi:** Mmhm.

**McHallyboo: **ANYWAYS, let's conclude this one heck of a finale! Vivian, how are you going to spend your money?

**Vivian**: (no response)

**McHallyboo:** I see, you're still unconscious.

**Wario:** Whoa. What happens to the money then? Can I keep it?

**McHallyboo:** No Wario. Hmm, I was thinking we could use some of the money to help us pay back for some of our budget overshoots. Do you know how much that equipment in the Sacred Pot mission cost us? A lot. Yoshi, what have you learned from this game?

**Yoshi:** What have I learned? That's a plethora of things. I learned that I should have signed up to be the Mole! It would have been much better.

**McHallyboo:** Hmm, well, save that for an alternate reality.

**Rosalina:** I truly, truly, loved this experience and would never trade it for anything in the world-

**McHallyboo:** Be quiet Rosalina, nobody cared about you. I would have rather had Peach or Daisy on this show, and neither of them are even smart!

**Rosalina:** Oh pooh...

**McHallyboo: **And don't you have like living-breathing stars to watch over right now or else the universe would collapse and explode? Why are you risking our lives this very second?

**Rosalina:** Yes.

**McHallyboo:** ...

**Boo:** I think I would have made it farther into the game if someone else was the Mole. I still don't buy the whole "host was the Mole" thing, sorry. Not even one bit.

**McHallyboo:** Well, I don't buy the fact that dead things can still speak. They should be dead and gone.

**Boo:** _(twitch, twitch)_ You're a terrible host...

**McHallyboo:** You just realized that? Lol.

**Wendy:** So. Can the finale finish already? My dad's planning a blackmail to be in the third season.

**McHallyboo:** _(spits out water)_ Third season? Oh gosh, you know how much time krisetchers would have to dedicate to that? And to know that he's not even a consistent writer! 5 months between updates. He'd feel too guilty. So he's entirely proud and grateful this second season came to life and is now complete.

**Goombella:** Who?

**McHallyboo:** Never mind.

**Goombella: **...

**McHallyboo:** ...

_(Bobbery punches McHallyboo suddenly_)

**McHallyboo:** Ow! Hey, what was that for?

**Bobbery:** I warned you...

**Luvbi: **Well! Awkward pause ended.

**McHallyboo:** It sure is. Anyways, it was a pleasure hosting for you all and we hope you enjoyed this season very much! Thank you all very much and HAVE A GOOD NIGHT EVERYONE!

**Players:** Yay!

**Diddy:** YOSHI!

**McHallyboo:** EXCEPT FOR YOU DIDDY! GOOD NIGHT!

* * *

**And that was the unscripted, ahem, "actual" finale of The Mole: Saboteur's Island! Editing can do a lot, no? ;)**

**Thank you everyone for your reviews since the clues final chapter till now! It's really been an honor and a huge gift to be your writer! ****In a way, I can say, thank goodness it's over! McHallyboo was right: I was truly afraid I wasn't going to finish this xP**

**But ****you guys reading this and reviewing this story made this possible! I look back and read your comments and reviews with such reminiscence and happy feelings. At some points, the reviews and comments even turned into a message board xD I very much loved that!** And I'm going to miss it all! WHAAA!

**Yoshi: Stop crying!**

**McHallyboo:** **This is emotional for me too... _(wipes tears)_**

**Yoshi:** **-.-**

**Anyways, before I leave, two final gifts! First, a final journal entry from the Mole! It can be found on my profile and awkwardly accessible, due to the fact that the fanfiction site has currently disabled links to outside sites ): But don't worry, you can still read it hehe. The codeword for the entry:**** _afinalword._**

**Also, the website has been fully restored, slightly renovated, and more complete than ever! :) Along with a completed mission list and added executions with music from the original first two seasons (random fact: making Bobbery's execution with that end music made me teary for some reason. I must be tired (genuine sniff)). **

**There's even a cool new intro video, as well as a finale video too! If you're interested in knowing the hidden clues in the intro, search for the image_ introhiddenclues_. They're kinda obscure, for future readers who haven't read the story yet :) ****So take a look at The Mole: Saboteur's Island website on your way out!**

**Thank you guys so much, and MAY THE MOLE FOREVER FOLLOW YOU HOME!**


	47. Update: Happy to Announce

Hi. So you're probably all wondering, "Wait, why is Saboteur's Island being updated? Did Vivian not win? Was Yoshi really not the Mole? Was McHallyboo actually the Mole? (Lol, excluding the last chapter)

Well, nope xP. I just wanted to update you all that there WILL be the introduction of a 3rd season this summer. And probably very soon!

**THE MOLE: EMISSARY'S CONSTRUCTION**

(inb4, "Huh? What is the meaning behind this weird title?" But as the story goes, you will see, hah. This game will take a small twist on things..location-wise.)

I have thought long and hard about making a new season, and I guess it's for everyone's best interest. Not only will you guys enjoy and benefit from another season (which makes me so immensely happy that you guys have read my stories in the past and have enjoyed them!) but I will also benefit from it as a person. Seriously, a life without the whole concept and adventure of the Mole has been hard on me so much, I EVEN CREATED AND FILMED A LIVE ACTION MOLE GAME ON MY UNIVERSITY CAMPUS!

(more updates on where you can find it for those who want to see me on youtube fail in Mole action :D ...or just google the phrase "MC Hallyboo youtube" and you will find it! Enjoy!)

Anyways, my biggest concern/one of the things holding me back from making a new story is that I knew how writer's block had killed me in the previous story at multiple times, and it makes me sad if you readers have to endure those again. So if I DO (and I will DEFINITELY, SUPER SUPER try not to at any cost), happen to have one of those awkward blocks of weeks of no updates, hopefully you will all be forgiving again, like so many of you during my past stories. So I apologize beforehand. Seriously, you guys rock.

Also, what better time to start than in the summer, when I'm doing absolutely nothing for 60% of my time? : )

Anyways, this 3rd installment of deceit and adventure will probably be uploaded some time this week. VERY SOON, actually, hopefully. Haha. So keep a look out in the near future! Stay tuned, people! : )And watch out for the Mole. He or she is a tricky one this time around...I hope.


End file.
